Shared Files Search Engine File Search Engine

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Koreas agree talks on volcanic risk research

North Korean delegates to the talks 
North Korea has said it is ready to discuss its nuclear enrichment plans


 

NRC plans review as focus turns to nuclear fuel storage

by Martin LaMonica
Dry cask storage puts spent fuel assemblies are entombed in steel and concrete.
Dry cask storage entombs spent fuel assemblies in steel and concrete.
(Credit: NRC)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans to do a "systematic and methodical" review of U.S. nuclear facilities following the onset of the crisis earlier this month in Japan.
The NRC said today that it will study information from the situation in Japan--where a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunamis provoked a dangerous situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility--and conduct an assessment of nuclear power plants in the U.S. There will be a rapid, 90-day review and a longer review which could include regulatory action, according to reports.
"We have a high degree of confidence that at our 104 nuclear reactors there is an adequate basis to ensure adequate protection," Bill Borchardt, executive director for operations at the NRC, said at a Commission meeting, according to a report at E2 Wire.
The review comes at a time of growing concern over nuclear disasters in the U.S. and renewed calls to improve the safety of spent fuel from nuclear facilities. At the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan, the spent fuel pools have emerged as one of the gravest dangers because they are not stored in metal and thick concrete structures as the reactors are.

Apple's iPad 2 launch abroad still on track (update)

by Josh Lowensohn

Apple's retail store in Covent Garden, London.
Apple's retail store in Covent Garden in London
(Credit: Apple)
Whispers that Apple might delay the international launch of the iPad 2 given the general lack of availability here in the U.S. since its launch just 10 days ago have proven to be false. Proof positive of that is new word from the company this morning that buyers abroad will still be able to get their hands on the tablet come Friday, as originally planned.
Speaking to TechRadar earlier today about the iPad 2 launch in the UK, an Apple representative told the site that "everything on the Web site still holds true; the Web site says 25 March and that's when it'll be."
In a follow-up conversation, an Apple representative told CNET that the original launch plans for the other 24 countries that make up the second launch wave have not changed either.
That list of countries had originally been 26, but given the dire situation in Japan, Apple last week announced that it was delaying the launch there while the country recovers.
With the overwhelming demand in the U.S. for the first-generation iPad, Apple chose to delay availability to its initial wave of international launch countries by a month, giving it time to catch up with some of the supply shortages. Some of those same shortages have hit the iPad 2, with units trickling in to Apple's retail stores and third-party retailers and resellers, while those who wish to order the device online face a wait of four to five weeks.
Updated at 10:25 a.m. PT with comment from Apple.
 

Keyword META tag generated at Search Engine Promotion Help