Infrastructure

Better policies needed to reduce radiation exposure in nuclear accidents
A new study says that offsite policies and plans should be put in place to reduce the exposure of the public to radiation in the event of a nuclear power plant accident
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Shift to green energy could mean crunch in rare Earth metals supply
A large-scale shift from coal-fired electric power plants and gasoline-fueled cars to wind turbines and electric vehicles could increase demand for two already-scarce metals — available almost exclusively in China — by 600-2,600 percent over the next twenty-five years
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New material to improve efficiency of power grids
Global energy demand is on the rise, as populations continue to grow and industrialization progresses; at the same time, there is a growing awareness and concern about repercussions of increasing rates of carbon dioxide emissions released in the atmosphere; a new nanocomposite material holds the promise of enabling smarter, more reliable, and greener power systems
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Infrastructure security, disaster planning “Super map” developed
A U.S. Marine stationed at the Quantico base in Virginia has developed sophisticated mapping software that can give users full situational awareness of their surroundings in real-time; the software is a “super map” taking in a torrent of data streams from emergency dispatch reports to weather forecasts, traffic reports, and security system alerts
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If Japan-like disaster happened in U.S., results would be far worse
An estimated 20,000 people died or are still missing after a massive earthquake-induced tsunami struck Japan on 11 March 2011, yet some 200,000 people were in the inundation zone at the time; experts say that if the same magnitude earthquake and tsunami hits the Pacific Northwest, the death toll will be much higher because of the lack of comparable preparation; that 90 percent rate could be the number of victims, not survivors
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Industry: current chemical safety standards sufficient, should be extended
DHS’s management of the U.S. chemical plant safety has come under criticism lately, but he Society of Chemical Manufactures and Affiliates (SOCMA) said it strongly supports U.S. chemical security standards; the industry associated noted that since the program’s 2007 launch, more than 2,000 facilities have changed processes or inventories such that they are no longer considered high-risk under the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS)
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Critics: current chemical safety standards insufficient, should not be extended
Critics of the current chemical plant safety standards say these standard are insufficient and should be extended; critics cite EPA data to highlight the fact that current safety standards leave more than 110 million Americans at risk from high-risk chemical plants
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Top LulzSec hackers arrested, leader turns them in
In the ongoing battle between law enforcement officials and hackers, authorities announced on Tuesday that they had arrested leading members of the hacktivist group known as LulzSec after their leader allegedly turned them in
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Solving the major problem of renewable energy: intermittency
Intermittency, sometimes called the Achilles’ heel of renewable energy, has so far limited the penetration of renewable sources in most power grids; engineers imagine an energy future where giant transmission grids are backed up by massive energy storage units
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National Weather Service budget cuts threaten poor IT infrastructure
The Obama administration has proposed cutting more than $39 million from the National Weather Service’s (NWS) budget, particularly from its IT department, and critics worry that the cuts could cause the agency’s already crippling infrastructure problems to grow worse
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Increase in groundwater demands due to climate change
As precipitation becomes less frequent due to climate change, lake and reservoir levels will drop and people will increasingly turn to groundwater for agricultural, industrial, and drinking water needs; the resource accounts for nearly half of all drinking water worldwide, but recharges at a much slower rate than aboveground water sources and in many cases is nonrenewable
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NSA pushes for greater federal cybersecurity role
General Keith Alexander, the head of the National Security Agency (NSA), and other intelligence officials are pushing the Obama administration to expand the role of the NSA in federal cybersecurity initiatives
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Senators compete over critical infrastructure cybersecurity bill
Lawmakers are currently struggling to come to a consensus on which government agency should be in charge of securing the nation’s cyber infrastructure
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AlertEnteprises wins three awards for critical infrastructure security tech
Last week AlertEnterprise announced that it had been given three awards for its identity and access management technology used to help secure critical infrastructure
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Poultry feathers-based filters remove arsenic from water
Thousands of people die each year in developing countries from drinking arsenic-contaminated water; researchers develop inexpensive filters made from the modified protein (keratin) in poultry feathers to remove arsenic from drinking water
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