United States Navy 501-K34 Gas Turbine Engine RADCON Effort

On the afternoon of March 11, 2011 at 2:46pm, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake took place 231 miles northeast of Tokyo, Japan, at a depth of 15.2 miles. The earthquake caused a tsunami with 30 foot waves that damaged several nuclear reactors in the area. It was the fourth largest earthquake on record (since 1900) and the largest to hit Japan. On March 12, 2011, the United States Government launched Operation Tomodachi to provide humanitarian relief aid to Japan. In all, a total of 24,000 troops, 189 aircraft, 24 naval ships, supported this relief effort, at a cost of $90.0 million. The U.S. Navy provided material support, personnel movement, search and rescue missions and damage surveys. During the operation, 11 gas turbine U.S. warships operated within the radioactive plume. As a result, numerous gas turbine engines ingested radiological contaminants and are now operating under Radiological Controls (RADCON). This paper will describe the events that lead to Operation Tomodachi, as well as the resultant efforts on the U.S. Navy’s Japanese based gas turbine fleet. In addition, this paper will outline the U.S. Navy’s effort to decontaminate, overhaul and return these RADCON assets back into the fleet.