Veteran US sailors from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan have re-filed a US$1 Billion class action lawsuit against the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) for failing to warn them about the massive amount of radiation they were exposed to from the triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The USS Reagan took part in Operation Tomodachi, assisting Japan in the immediate aftermath of the 11 March 2011 Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Disaster.  Former Prime Minister Naoto Kan last year admitted that the first meltdown at Fukushima was 5 hours after the tsunami hit, suggesting that the Reagan sailed through the radioactive plume.

The new suit now includes the infant child of one of the sailors who served aboard the USS Reagan, a baby born with a rare genetic defect.  Another new plaintiff is an American teenager who lived near Fukushima.  The lawsuit also leaves the door open to “up to 70,000 U.S. citizens (who were) potentially affected by the radiation and will be able to join the class action suit.”

The sailors from the Reagan who took part in Operation Tomodachi reported ailments out of the ordinary, such as leukemia, ulcers, testicular cancer, reproductive problems – things that should not be present in young, healthy adults, but are similar to those who were exposed to other nuclear-related incidents.

A US federal judge last year dismissed an earlier version of the suit from the Reagan sailors, citing jurisdictional issues.