JAPAN NUKE ALERT SPREADS AS U.S. SHIP DETECTS RAISED RADIATION MILES OFFSHORE

A mother tries to talk to her daughter who has been isolated for signs of radiation after evacuating from the vicinity of Fukushima's nuclear plants, at a makeshift facility to screen, cleanse and isolate people with high radiation levels in Nihonmatsu, March 14.

A pleasure boat sitting on top of a building amid a sea of debris in Otsuchi town in Iwate prefecture on March 14.

A girl's shoe sits in flood debris in the coastal area of Soma city, Fukushima prefecture on March 14.

A Japan Self-Defense Force member reacts after rescuing a four-month-old baby girl in Ishimaki on March 14.

A combo of screen grabs taken from news footage by Japanese public broadcaster NHK on March 14, shows the moment of a hydrogen explosion at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station number three reactor. An explosion shook a quake-damaged Japanese nuclear power plant on Monday and plumes of smoke rose from the building, live television showed. Japan's nuclear safety agency said the blast, was believed to be caused by hydrogen.

Tests detected low levels of radioactivity on 17 U.S. Navy helicopter crew members when they returned to the USS Ronald Reagan after conducting disaster relief missions in Japan, the military said Monday.

No further contamination was detected after the crew members washed with soap and water, the Navy said.

In addition, the Navy said the U.S. 7th Fleet has temporarily repositioned its ships and planes away from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant after detecting low-level contamination in the air and on its planes in the area, the Navy said.

One ship was operating about 100 miles northeast of the power plant when "airborne radioactivity" was detected, the Navy said.

The Navy's statement, however, provided some perspective, noting that the maximum potential radiation dose received by personnel when the ship passed through the area was "less than the radiation exposure received from about one month of exposure to natural background radiation from sources such as rocks, soil, and the sun."

On Sunday, the USS Ronald Reagan started delivering aid in the coastal regions of Japan's Miyagi prefecture.

Crew members, in conjunction with the Japan Maritime Self Defense Forces, conducted 20 sorties delivering aid pallets.

Eight U.S. and Japanese helicopters were used to distribute the pallets, according to Sgt. Maj. Stephen Valley of U.S. Forces Japan.

Workers are scrambling to cool down fuel rods and prevent a full meltdown in three reactors at the earthquake-hit plant. Radioactive steam has been released, intentionally to lessen growing pressure in the reactors.