Breaking: US tells citizens "50 miles"

Apparently there are statements telling US citizens in Japan to get 50 miles from the Fukushima Daiichi site, which equates to about 80 kilometers... not the 20 kilometers for total evacuation, and 30 for remaining indoors.

The statement was to the effect that the NRC had a different standard, and that this is what they'd be telling citizens here in the US if this happened.

In the immediate future (an hour or so) I'll have a map up here showing what some of the typical values for the US rules look like.

At this moment, it seems a bit excessive, but then again the NRC might be leaning toward the notion that if one plant experiences a total melt then recovery of the others would be halted, thus ensuring a multiple melt. This seems unlikely given the evidence right now, although frankly it cannot be 100% ruled out .. as cannot many other outcomes.