[exDemMom]

"During our mission to assist our close allies of Japan, we were operating near the radioactive plume from Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant. As you may have already heard, radioactivity was detected on 17 personnel from our ship..."

Took me 10 times longer to write this comment than the search...

If only 17 personnel had radioactivity on them, and I assume they were decontaminated immediately, then the health effects should be minimal.

This story sounds like sensationalism to me.

[gfbtbb]

Even if they were decontaminated, that only covers surface skin exposure. New clothes and a nasty scrub down is all it is. It’s the stuff a person ingests and breathes into their lung and enters the body through other openings like tear ducts and skin breaks that we can’t do anything about.
Thus the invention of all manner of positive pressure full body haz-mat suits.

[RoadGumby]

Health effects are even less than minimal. I know, I’ve been there.

Radioactive contamination is dirt. It just so happens to give off energy in the form of particles (alpha or beta) or electromagnetic waves (gamma or x-ray).

When the dirt is removed, so is the hazard.

[logi_cal869]

If only 17 personnel had radioactivity on them, and I assume they were decontaminated immediately, then the health effects should be minimal. This story sounds like sensationalism to me.

Inhaled/ingested airborne radiation particles cannot be 'decontaminated'.