美国国家公共电台 NPR--Scientists find high levels of hazardous chemicals in the air around Ohio town

Scientists find high levels of hazardous¹ chemicals in the air around Ohio town

Transcript²

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Texas A&M professor Weihsueh Chiu, about independent researchers, who have found higher-than-average levels of some hazardous chemicals around the train derailment.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Now, scientists are also concerned about high levels of hazardous chemicals in the air around East Palestine. Texas A&M professor Weihsueh Chiu leads a team that's been looking for answers, and he's with us now. Good morning. Thanks for being on the program.

WEIHSUEH CHIU: Good morning. Pleasure to be here.

FADEL: So what are you finding? We heard these very scared residents just now. Is the air safe to breathe like the EPA is saying?

CHIU: So we've been conducting some mobile sampling, which means that we can drive around the town and look at air quality throughout different parts of the town, not just at a couple of fixed³ locations, like EPA has monitoring stations. So our first set of sampling data we released last night. It shows that for four particular chemicals of concern, benzene, xylene, tyrosine and vinyl chloride - and vinyl chloride is a carcinogen that was being carried on the train - our measurements were consistent with EPA's and were below levels of exposures of concern for exposures up to a year or more. And we didn't - furthermore didn't find any hot spots for those chemicals.

FADEL: So what does that mean? Are people safe to drink the water, to breathe the air? What does it mean for people in East Palestine?

CHIU: So we're still conducting additional analysis. We're only focused on the air, so I can't comment on the water and soil at the moment. But there is one issue of the chemical acrolein, which we had previously⁴ noted⁵ some of the EPA data were above levels that were considered of minimal⁶ risk for longer-term exposures. Additionally, one limitation of EPA's data is that their analytical⁷ method can't detect levels low enough to really fully⁸ provide that assurance of safety. In other words, the detection limits for that particular chemical, acrolein, is higher than what would be considered a minimal level of risk.

FADEL: And what would that chemical, acrolein, do to people's health long term if it continues to be high - higher levels in the air?

CHIU: So acrolein is a respiratory toxicant. It means it affects the respiratory system - the nose, the throat and the lungs. And over long periods in animal studies, it's caused - low levels have caused problems in the - particularly the nasal passages. And also, a couple years ago, there was a new rodent⁹ study that found that it caused nasal tumors over lifetime exposures. However, you know, we did conduct mobile sampling data on acrolein, as well, although our mobile sampling data can't be directly compared to those minimal risk levels. So we instead compared to other locations, specifically downtown Pittsburgh, where Carnegie Mellon, which is part of our team, has been sampling. We found that levels in East Palestine for acrolein range from about five times lower to about three times higher than downtown Pittsburgh. Those levels also tended to be concentrated in sort of the southern and eastern parts of town closer to the accident site.

FADEL: So if you could just help us out for nonscientists, what this means for a regular person living near the derailment, if you find higher levels of this chemical and lower levels in other parts, should they be concerned? What should they be doing? How long should you be testing?

CHIU: Well, so this is a rural area. So you wouldn't expect levels to be similar to, like, downtown Pittsburgh.

FADEL: Right.

CHIU: Now, you know, but the levels aren't uniformly higher, you know, like 10 times higher than Pittsburgh or something like that. So I wouldn't say there's a cause for immediate¹⁰ concern, but I do think there needs to be continued follow-up and periodic testing to ensure that levels do go down with continued cleanup and, as well, that to confirm whether the levels are really concentrated in that part of town or whether, you know, it's something that is variable from day to day.

FADEL: And what should residents be looking out for in the coming weeks and months? What's the greatest danger - or what you're looking at is the greatest danger?

CHIU: So in terms of air pollution, I think another thing people are concerned about is whether there may be chemicals in the air that no one's measuring. And so that's another thing that we're trying to address with our mobile sampling. And - because our particular instrument can search more broadly for a wider range of chemicals. And we hope to have some of that data analyzed¹¹ soon to see whether there are some chemicals in the air that nobody has been monitoring for and again, help, you know, redirect maybe some resources to focus on some of those additional chemicals.

FADEL: And very quickly, how concerned should people in East Palestine be about your findings?

CHIU: I have confidence in EPA, FEMA and other federal, state and local officials in addressing what I think Donald Rumsfeld popularized the idea of known - there are known knowns, known unknowns and unknown unknowns. So I worked at EPA for 14 years, and I know that everyone there is dedicated¹² to protecting public health and will definitely address all the known knowns. What I'm hoping we're doing in some - and that other people can do is to help fill in some of those known unknowns and unknown unknowns - that people in East Palestine are clearly concerned about their continued health. We want to fill in some of those gaps to ensure that people can get their lives back to normal.

FADEL: Texas A&M professor Weihsueh Chiu, thank you so much.

CHIU: Thank you very much.

(SOUNDBITE OF EMANCIPATOR'S "TREE HUNT")

1 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。

2 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。

3 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

4 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

7 analytical   

adj.分析的；用分析法的

参考例句：

• I have an analytical approach to every survey.对每项调查我都采用分析方法。
• As a result,analytical data obtained by analysts were often in disagreement.结果各个分析家所得的分析数据常常不一致。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 rodent   

n.啮齿动物；adj.啮齿目的

参考例句：

• When there is a full moon,this nocturnal rodent is careful to stay in its burrow.月圆之夜，这种夜间活动的啮齿类动物会小心地呆在地洞里不出来。
• This small rodent can scoop out a long,narrow tunnel in a very short time.这种小啮齿动物能在很短的时间里挖出一条又长又窄的地道来。

10 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。

11 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。