Infrastructure protection

DHS receives IT money in stimulus package
DHS receives a $2.8 billion boost from the new stimulus package; largest single item is for TSA’s installation of checked baggage explosive detection systems
- Read more
Public support for infrastructure investment grows
University of Chicago NORC survey finds growing public support for investment in mass transit and infrastructure; support remains high for expenditures on education and health care
- Read more

Better detection with self-healing wireless sensor network
New self-forming, self-healing wireless mesh sensor network can detect railway embankment landslides, humidity in art museums, water quality in water treatment facilities — and has military and security applications such as a perimeter network that can detect intrusion through breaking a light beam, or triggering a tripwire, or proximity sensor
- Read more
Ocean water rising unevenly; Washington, D.C. may be submerged
Rather than spreading out evenly across all the oceans, water from melted Antarctic ice sheets will gather around North America and the Indian Ocean;this is bad news for the U.S. East Coast, which could bear the brunt of one of these oceanic bulges
- Read more

Scientists: weight of water in reservoir may have triggered China quake
The May 2007 magnitude-7.9 quake in Sichuan province killed 70,000 and forced 5 million to be relocated; Just 550 yards from the fault line and 3.5 miles from the epicenter stands the 511-foot-high Zipingpu dam; scientists say that the immense weight of Zipingpu reservoir’s waters — 315 million tons — likely affected the timing and magnitude of the quake
- Read more
Doubling the service life of concrete
NIST researchers double the service life of concrete The key to the idea is a nano-sized additive that slows down penetration of chloride and sulphate ions from road salt, sea water, and soils into the concrete
- Read more

Data loss cost companies $6.6 million per breach
Customers lose faith in organizations that cannot keep data safe and take their business elsewhere; study of data breaches show that negligent companies lose on average more than $6 million per breach
- Read more
ASCE assigns Grade of D to U.S. infrastructure
Civil engineers association assigns a D grade to U.S. infrastructure, and says $2.2 trillion in repairs needed
- Read more

Bomb-proof concrete developed
Liverpool University researchers develop blast-resistant concrete; the Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete is able to absorb a thousand times more energy than conventional mixtures
- Read more
Smiths Detection shows active mm-wave detection system
Passive mm-wave detection systems pick up the mm-wave heat energy emitted by the body, which is used as a background reference point; active systems transmit mm-wave into the detection area to boost the level of energy overall, give a better return and a more detailed image
- Read more

Napolitano issues first action directives
On her first day in office, new DHS secretary issues five action directives centering on protection of critical infrastructure, transportation, and on better intelligence sharing among federal, state, and local levels of government
- Read more
First weapons-grade plutonium found in a dump
The oldest batch of weapons-grade plutonium was found inside a glass jar buried at a dump at the Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington State
- Read more

Japan to restart controversial fast-breeder reactor
Japan, an economic giant with no natural energy resources, is to restart its controversial fast-breeder nuclear reactor this year after a series of safety scares caused the closing of the plant for more than 13 years
- Read more
Freight train derails near Chicago
Seventeen cars are derailed near a suburb west of Chicago; two of the cars contained molten sulfur, and authorities treat the accident as hazmat event
- Read more
Utilities plan to stay the course with spending plans for infrastructure
Despite the economic slowdown, utilities around the world plan to press ahead with investments in both their infrastructure and “smart grid” automation program; investments will be in the range of $90-$105 billion
- Read more

More headlines