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Nuclear power shortages forces Japan to reduce consumption
As winter approaches, residents of Japan are being asked to cut power consumption by 10 percent as many of the country’s nuclear reactors have remained offline since the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi atomic energy plant
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Army engineers need $1 billion to repair damaged levees
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is urgently requesting $1 billion to repair flood control systems along the Mississippi and Missouri river basins following damage from record floods this spring; the historic flooding forced the corps to blow up portions of the levee to relieve pressure, flooding thousands of acres of farmland to protect cities along the rivers
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New technology for safe storage of radioactive waste
Researchers have developed new technology capable of removing radioactive material from contaminated water and aiding clean-up efforts following nuclear disasters
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Sector Report for Monday, 31 October 2011: Infrastructure protection
This report contains the following stories.
Plus 1 additional story.
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More than 18,000 bridges in metro areas structurally deficient
A recently released report found that more than 18,000 U.S. bridges in the busiest cities are “structurally deficient”; each day 75 percent of all traffic crosses one of these deficient bridges and in cities like Los Angeles, an average of 396 drivers cross a deficient bridge every second
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Electrical grid targeted by hackers
The co-chair of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus warns that U.S. electrical grids are becoming increasingly attractive targets for hackers in a potential cyberwar
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Hydrogen use as fuel source may be near
Researchers say that our cars may soon be running on an abundant, environmentally friendly fuel generated from the surrounding atmosphere; the researchers demonstrated how such a fuel — in this case, hydrogen — can be stored in metals
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Napolitano: hackers "came close" to shutting down critical infrastructure
On Thursday DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano revealed that hackers have “come close” to shutting down parts of the nation’s critical infrastructure; at a press conference Napolitano stated that hackers have attempted to infiltrate financial systems, transportation networks, and other key elements of U.S. critical infrastructure, making cyberattacks on these facilities one of her top concerns
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NIST releases smart grid framework update
An expanded list of standards, new cybersecurity guidance and product testing proposals are among the new elements in an updated roadmap for Smart Grid interoperability released yesterday for public comment by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
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Also noted
Water Distribution Systems: A Potential Terrorist Tactic | Austrian student fights Facebook over privacy | Cyber attacks hit Japan diplomatic missions | DoD, VA increase rabies-prevention efforts | Economic troubles take toll on U.S. police departments | Ten years on, Patriot Act remains controversial
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College chemical labs unsafe, report finds
A recently released report found that college laboratories with their dangerous mix of volatile chemicals pose a danger to students and employees
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Leeds sludge experts target nuclear waste
Researchers from the University of Leeds have teamed up with Sellafield Ltd. to clean up radioactive sludge produced by the U.K. nuclear industry; the newly formed Sludge Center of Expertise will play a key role in describing the behavior of the sludge wastes that have arisen after years of operation at Sellafield and other nuclear sites across the United Kingdom
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Formation of Senate and House rare Earth minerals caucuses urged
The Association for Rare Earth yesterday urged the creation of Senate and House caucuses to focus on the challenges of securing supplies of rare Earth elements for U.S. high technology, clean energy, and defense communities
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New Stuxnet-like virus hits Europe
The dreaded Stuxnet worm, which was the first instance of a computer virus creating physical damage, may have spawned a dangerous new piece of malware; researchers at Symantec believe they have discovered a new computer virus that uses many of the same techniques in European computers
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Decontaminating Japan to cost at least $13 billion
Last week Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced the government will spend at least 1 trillion yen, or $13 billion, to decontaminate areas affected by nuclear radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi atomic power plant
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