April 5, 2011 at 1:23 PM ET
As if there's not enough fear and paranoia because of what's happening at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant, a new app for iPhone and Android phones will tell you where all the nuclear power plant sites are in the area where you live, or anywhere else in the world, as well as evacuation zone distances from the plants themselves in the event of catastrophe.
Is the Nuclear Site Locator app smart planning, or feeding on the worries of an already stressed world?
Some might say both. App developer LogSat Software certainly knows its market. It is also the creator of the Sex Offenders Search and Family Tracker apps. (Promo for the latter: "Your kids tell you that they are staying late with friends to study for their test. Are they really there, or did they go out partying?")
This time, with Nuclear Site Locator ($1.99, for iPhone and Android phones), the developer says the app "provides you with a risk mitigation tool to assist with preparedness and evacuation planning. Active nuclear emergency sites will be highlighted with mile markers at different ranges so you can make informed decisions on taking a route out of danger, sheltering in place."
Among the app's features, according to LogSat:
- A list of all known active and non-active sites. Even non-active sites could be a potential threat if used materials are still on-site. This list shows the name and distance of every nuclear site from your current location, a contact on your iPhone, or by a street address you want to search.
- Information on the number of active and inactive reactors for each site is displayed.
- Photographs of sites are provided as best as possible. Security or clearance concerns may prohibit or limit the number displayed.
"Use the power of knowledge to have every advantage at your disposal when it counts," says LogSat. And there is a certain amount of wisdom to that — as well as smart marketing at this very moment.
More about iPhone apps:
- Watch Japan news videos using NHK's iPhone app
- Facebook iPhone app finally allows unfriending
- App unmasks blocked and private phone numbers
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