Oodora

Yeah the industry seems focused on sensationalism instead of the story. I think it's a reason why shows like Last Week Tonight, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and The Colbert Report became as popular as they are or were. Using comedy to get to the heart of the issue without offending everyone.

A key point is what kind of radiation was it. Different materials can give off different kinds and leave traces for various amounts of time. Molten sodium leaves traces of alpha radiation which could be signs of a Dynamo generating an electric field in conjunction with molten iron which could explain traces left behind in some reports.