美国国家公共电台 NPR--Residents near the train derailment are told it's safe to go home. Is it?

Residents near the train derailment are told it's safe to go home. Is it?

Transcript¹

This month's train derailment in Ohio unleashed² toxic³ fumes⁴ into the air around East Palestine. NPR's Steve Inskeep asks Johns Hopkins expert Peter DeCarlo about safety concerns.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

So we heard the reassurances⁵ of the EPA, that people can smell chemicals, but it's not enough to be dangerous. We've heard the concerns of people in the community who say they're feeling sick. Now let's get an evaluation⁶ from Peter DeCarlo, an associate professor of environmental health and engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Welcome to the program, sir.

PETER DECARLO: Thank you for having me.

INSKEEP: What if you were a resident of East Palestine, Ohio? Would you feel safe going back home?

DECARLO: Honestly, with the data that I've seen on the EPA response site, the answer is no. And there's a couple reasons for that. First off, I have two small children, and I'd be especially concerned for their health. And secondly⁷, the air monitoring in the area just doesn't really - the air sampling, as well - doesn't really give me the information I need to understand whether or not there's still emissions⁸ from the site. And clearly, there are if people are still smelling fumes.

INSKEEP: OK, this is getting probably more technical than we can describe on the radio. But the essence of what I understand the EPA to be telling me, as a layman⁹, is that there may be enough for you to smell, but there's not enough chemicals in the air and not enough concentration of chemicals to harm you. Are you telling me you don't see the same thing when you look at the same data?

DECARLO: So the EPA seems to be relying on air monitoring, and they make a distinction between air monitoring and air sampling. In air monitoring, they're walking around with these handheld devices, which are really not designed to make the appropriate measurements. They're not specific to the chemicals that are of concern. They kind of measure them all as one class. And they just do not have the appropriate sensitivity to give you the accurate idea of a concentration. They're also doing...

INSKEEP: You're telling me that they're not giving you enough information to be assured.

DECARLO: Correct. Absolutely. Yeah. They're also doing air sampling, which means they draw air into a stainless¹⁰ steel container. They take that container back to the lab. And that type of measurement can be done with very accurate assessment¹¹ of what chemicals are present and at what concentrations. The problem with that is they're not doing it, or at least the data is not being posted, at areas at the accident site and downwind of the accident site. And that's the - those are the two key places that tell me what chemicals may be still being emitted from the site and what the appropriate risks are. And without that information, we really just can't assess the risk appropriately.

INSKEEP: Let's look at the other bits of evidence that we have and be frank about it. We have anecdotal information from people who say, I feel sick. And I don't mean to dismiss it at all by saying that it's anecdotal. But, of course, we know that people feel sick all the time. They may feel sick whether there are chemicals in the air or not. But we have this coincidence, possibly, or real connection between chemical smells in the air and people who feel sick. Do the symptoms you heard described sound like something that would happen to somebody who has some kind of chemical poisoning?

DECARLO: I don't know if I would call it poisoning, but certainly a sensitivity to that chemical. And I think the symptoms that people are describing are also consistent with what we understand the responses for these types of chemicals can be. So, yeah, I mean, I think that these are very real experiences from the people who are living and have moved back to the area.

INSKEEP: So if the EPA is listening this morning - and I bet somebody is - and they called you up and said, OK, we heard your complaint, what would you have me do, how would you answer them?

DECARLO: I would tell them I think the most important thing, from my perspective - and this is kind of what I do for a living is measure chemicals in the air - is - I would like to see a set of three measurements done repeatedly until they can show that there are no more emissions from the site. And one of those measurements should be upwind, so we know the air that's going towards the accident site. One measurement should be done at the measurement site - or at the accident site. And one measurement should be done downwind of the accident site. And if you have those series of three measurements, you know what chemicals are getting emitted at the accident site, if there are still chemicals being emitted, and what those concentrations look like downwind because on any given day, the wind could be coming from any direction. So...

INSKEEP: Peter DeCarlo of Johns Hopkins University. Thanks so much. Really appreciate it.

1 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。

2 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 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。

5 reassurances   

n.消除恐惧或疑虑( reassurance的名词复数 )；恢复信心；使人消除恐惧或疑虑的事物；使人恢复信心的事物

参考例句：

• We have had some reassurances from the council that the building will be saved. 理事会保证会保留那座建筑，这使我们得到了些许安慰。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Everybody's reassurances have encouraged me. 大家的勉励鼓舞了我。 来自辞典例句

6 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。

7 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

8 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

9 layman   

n.俗人，门外汉，凡人

参考例句：

• These technical terms are difficult for the layman to understand.这些专门术语是外行人难以理解的。
• He is a layman in politics.他对政治是个门外汉。

10 stainless   

adj.无瑕疵的，不锈的

参考例句：

• I have a set of stainless knives and forks.我有一套不锈钢刀叉。
• Before the recent political scandal,her reputation had been stainless.在最近的政治丑闻之前，她的名声是无懈可击的。

11 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？