美国国家公共电台 NPR--Crews in Ohio successfully release toxic chemicals from derailed tankers

Crews in Ohio successfully release toxic¹ chemicals from derailed tankers³

Transcript⁴

Authorities in Ohio conducted a controlled release of chemicals in derailed train cars to avert⁵ a catastrophe⁶ from occurring in a region near the Ohio-Pennsylvania state line

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Not far from the border between Ohio and Pennsylvania, a freight train went off the tracks.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The crash led to fire, and authorities said they drained hazardous⁷ chemicals to avoid an explosion. Thousands of people were evacuated⁹ from their homes and schools, and businesses shut down in East Palestine. Residents are still being told to stay away until the fire dies down.

INSKEEP: Julie Grant is covering this for The Allegheny Front. Good morning.

JULIE GRANT, BYLINE¹⁰: Good morning.

INSKEEP: What's the trouble here?

GRANT: Well, there's a mess of smoldering¹¹ train tanker² cars crashed around the tracks. There's 50 cars in all. The focus was on five of them, those filled with chemical vinyl chloride. In at least one car, temperatures were rising, and officials from Norfolk Southern were concerned that it would blow up. They conducted what they called a controlled release on Monday. They cut a small hole in the cars so the chemicals could slowly leak into a trench¹² that was filled with flares¹³, kind of like a controlled burn.

INSKEEP: Got you.

GRANT: And there was an explosion. Scott Deutsch of Norfolk Southern said that was the safest way to proceed.

(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)

SCOTT DEUTSCH: So this was for us to control the reaction that was taking place and not the cars doing it on their own. That's very important. That makes it safe.

GRANT: So the plan was about controlling the explosion, when it occurred, where train parts landed and limiting fumes¹⁴ in the air. And the company says it was a success.

INSKEEP: You know, Julie, when I look at the pictures of this, it's not even like the train cars are still close to the tracks. They're just scrambled¹⁵ in all directions. It's really stunning¹⁶. You get a sense of the incredible momentum¹⁷ of these many-tons-heavy cars being thrown around. What could have caused that?

GRANT: Yeah, it's a real scene there. The National Transportation Safety Board was on site over the weekend. The agency's Michael Graham said videos of the scene indicate mechanical issues with one of the rail car axles. That's only preliminary.

INSKEEP: Sure.

GRANT: They used drones to map the derailment, and they were able to secure video and audio recordings¹⁸. And Graham says they'll create a timeline.

MICHAEL GRAHAM: The data will then be sent to the NTSB's vehicle data recorder lab in Washington, D.C., for a complete evaluation¹⁹ and analysis.

GRANT: So it'll take four to six weeks to produce a preliminary report and up to two years for a final report.

INSKEEP: You know, I just looked up at a television just now, and there was video of a fire there being seen within sight of homes. Granting that people have been evacuated, is there still concern about health effects here?

GRANT: Well, the immediate²⁰ health effects of breathing in these chemicals can be extreme, from skin burns, lung damage and even death. And this is why Governor DeWine of Ohio was so adamant²¹ that people evacuate⁸ the area. Authorities say they didn't see any harmful air quality measurements yesterday. The Ohio EPA is monitoring air quality. And officials say that now cleanup and remediation at the site can continue safely.

INSKEEP: How widespread is the evacuation for how long?

GRANT: Well, the order from Governor DeWine and from Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro meant about 5,000 people had to evacuate their homes. Those were people who live within a 1-to-2-mile area around the derailment site, straddling either side of the state line. I spoke²² with a number of residents over the weekend. They were at a community center looking for help and for information. Some of them were scared and confused, and many are anxious to return home. But that might not happen for a while. Schools are closed for at least a week.

INSKEEP: Julie, thanks for the update. Really appreciate it.

GRANT: Thank you.

INSKEEP: Julie Grant is a reporter with The Allegheny Front who covers environmental issues.

1 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

2 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

3 tankers   

运送大量液体或气体的轮船[卡车]( tanker的名词复数 )； 油轮； 罐车； 油槽车

参考例句：

• They should stop offloading waste from oil tankers into the sea. 他们应当停止从油轮上往海里倾倒废弃物。
• The harbour admits large tankers and freighters. 这个港口容得下巨型油船和货轮。

4 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

5 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

6 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

7 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

8 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

9 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

10 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

11 smoldering   

v.用文火焖烧，熏烧，慢燃( smolder的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The mat was smoldering where the burning log had fallen. 燃烧的木棒落下的地方垫子慢慢燃烧起来。 来自辞典例句
• The wood was smoldering in the fireplace. 木柴在壁炉中闷烧。 来自辞典例句

12 trench   

n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕

参考例句：

• The soldiers recaptured their trench.兵士夺回了战壕。
• The troops received orders to trench the outpost.部队接到命令在前哨周围筑壕加强防卫。

13 flares   

n.喇叭裤v.（使）闪耀( flare的第三人称单数 )；（使）（船舷）外倾；（使）鼻孔张大；（使）（衣裙、酒杯等）呈喇叭形展开

参考例句：

• The side of a ship flares from the keel to the deck. 船舷从龙骨向甲板外倾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation. 他是火爆性子，一点就着。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 fumes   

n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体

参考例句：

• The health of our children is being endangered by exhaust fumes. 我们孩子们的健康正受到排放出的废气的损害。
• Exhaust fumes are bad for your health. 废气对健康有害。

15 scrambled   

v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

17 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

18 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

19 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

20 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

21 adamant   

adj.坚硬的，固执的

参考例句：

• We are adamant on the building of a well-off society.在建设小康社会这一点上，我们是坚定不移的。
• Veronica was quite adamant that they should stay on.维罗妮卡坚信他们必须继续留下去。

22 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。