I'll go back to my main point ...

Why are they not simply telling people the truth - or at least the facts as they have them? We have gone through the progression" "No problem" ... "Some radiation release but OK" ... "Outside wall has been broken by chemical explosion but reactor OK" ... "Plant on fire but no meltdown" ... "Maybe a partial meltdown". Along the way we first hear that background radiation has increased, but is not serious. Now we hear that maybe some cesium contamination has escaped the plant (but this is unconfirmed).

I really don't mind if this incident is 1 on a scale of 7, or 7 on a scale of 7. It would just be nice if someone would give the actual FACTS as they know them. It now seems obvious that people have been measuring radiation levels for a long time and have that data, and quite possibly they even have chemical species breakdowns for some of the atomic species in the released material.

This whole incident has been handled a lot like the initial steps of the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Layers and layers of denial. It's just not a good way to handle information related to a public safety hazard.

other Pete