RE: Radiation Detectors
Keep in mind that the radiation detectors in use today ain't quite the old
Geiger counters that granddad used in '46 prospecting in Utah expecting to
get rich.  An example of the sensitivity of today instruments made the news
here in Seattle a few moths ago.  At the Colman ferry terminal on the
Seattle water front they suddenly went into lock down.  All kinds of
uniformed types poured out on to the apron where cars were waiting to get
onto the ferry.  Eventually someone was heard to say "Here it is" as they
surrounded one car.  They then started to question the man driving.  One of
the first questions they asked was "Have you had any medical procedures
today?" and he responded yes, he'd had a study done that required the
injection of radioactive tracer material.  They said "Thank you, that
explains it" and everything went back to normal.
So when the news reports just part of the news, such as "Increased radiation
levels detected 100 miles away" but don't bother (or are to ignorant to or
just prefer to spout scary stuff) to report the amount of such increases or
the significance of such increased readings we get the kind of craziness we
are seeing today.