Just to make this clear - there is no such thing as "too high for a geiger counter to read". There is "too high for the geiger counter in my hand to read", just

Just to make this clear - there is no such thing as "too high for a geiger counter to read". There is "too high for the geiger counter in my hand to read", just as with any other instrument, but all they have to do to get a better reading is find a less sensitive counter or one with a smaller aperture. I suspect that TEPCO has already done so and that they're just rounding things off for the press.