Tokyo (ANTARA News/AFP) - A US aircraft carrier deployed off tsunami-hit Japan for relief efforts has repositioned after detecting low-level radiation from a malfunctioning nuclear power plants, a US statement said Monday. "The US Seventh Fleet has temporarily repositioned its ships and aircraft away from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi (No. 1) nuclear power plant after detecting low level contamination in the air and on its aircraft operating in the area," the Seventh Fleet said in a statement. "The source of this airborne radioactivity is a radioactive plume released from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant." The statement said that the radiation level was so low that it presented no health risk -- less than one month of exposure to natural background radiation from rocks, soil and the sun. The ship was operating at sea about 160 kilometres (100 miles) northeast of the power plant at the time. "As a precautionary measure, USS Ronald Reagan and other US Seventh Fleet ships conducting disaster response operations in the area have moved out of the downwind direction from the site to assess the situation and determine what appropriate mitigating actions are necessary," the statement said. It added that the "low levels of radioactivity" were detected using sensitive instruments on 17 air crew of three helicopters which returned to the USS Ronald Reagan after conducting disaster relief missions near Sendai. "The low level radioactivity was easily removed from affected personnel by washing with soap and water," the statement said. "They were subsequently surveyed, and no further contamination was detected." The statement added: "We remain committed to our mission of providing assistance to the people of Japan". (Uu.KR-PPT/H-AK)

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