PBS高端访谈:水利突发事件备受关注

 　　JUDY WOODRUFF: A few drips of good news greeted residents of West Virginia today, but the fallout from last week’s chemical spill is far from over.

　　There's finally relief for some of the 300,000 West Virginians who've been unable to drink, cook or even bathe with tap water for five days.

　　Governor Earl Ray Tomblin announced today that test results are now below toxic¹ levels.

　　GOV. EARL RAY TOMBLIN, D-W.Va.: The numbers we have today look good, and we're finally at a point where the do-not-use order has been lifted in certain areas. We have made a lot of progress, but I ask all West Virginians to continue to be patient as we work to safely restore service to the affected² areas.

　　JUDYWOODRUFF: It can't happen soon enough for people who scrounged for ice and bottled water over the weekend. More than 230 visited emergency rooms complaining of exposure symptoms; 14 were admitted. Still, some were undaunted. A local beauty pageant³ went on as planned.

　　WOMAN:We cannot take showers, so some girls are using water bottles to wash their hair, using a lot of dry shampoo, baby powder, lots of hair spray and teasing.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: The crisis began Thursday, when 7,500 gallons of the chemical 4-methylcyclohexane methanol leaked from a storage tank at Freedom Industries. Some of the substance, used in coal processing, escaped a containment⁴ area and ran into the Elk⁵ River, just upstream from the region's water treatment plant.

　　The breach⁶ shut down the water supply in nine West Virginia counties, an area that includes Charleston. The plant is not subject to state inspections⁸, but local leaders now say there were obvious problems.

　　KENT CARPER,Kanawha County Commission: You can actually see where there were cracks in it, where the chemical came through it. The condition of the plant was not good. The danger was known by the previous owner and the danger was known to the current owner.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Federal authorities have opened an investigation⁹ of the Freedom Industries site.

　　Meanwhile, the water company is watching contamination levels downstream.

　　JEFF MCINTYRE,West Virginia American Water Company: Water sampling continues on the Elk, Kanawha and Ohio rivers to detect any evidence of the chemical. We expect there will be considerable dilution¹⁰ in the rivers that will work in our favor and mitigate¹¹ the impact of the spill on the water in Huntington.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: As for Charleston, water officials say the licorice odor may linger for a while, as water service is restored in stages.

　　We turn now to Ashton Marra. She is in Charleston and has been covering the spill for West Virginia Public Broadcasting. I spoke¹² with her a short time ago.

　　Ashton Marra, thank you for talking with us.

　　So, what is the very latest?

　　ASHTON MARRA,West Virginia Public Broadcasting: The very latest is now two zones have been approved to open and begin flushing out their homes and their businesses, and able to use water again.

　　Now, those zones have been prioritized, as West Virginia American Water president told us earlier today, to zones that include hospitals and the highest population density¹³ areas. So zone one and two have been approved to start the flushing process. Both of those include major hospitals.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: And tell us in brief what is this flushing process?

　　ASHTON MARRA: Basically, the flushing process is a three-step method.

　　First of all, you're turning on your hot water faucets¹⁴ for 15 minutes. And then you're turning on your cold water for five minutes, and then you have to go through the process of cleaning and flushing all of the appliances in your home that use water. There's a very, very detailed¹⁵ list, things like washing machines, dishwashers, icemakers, any type of water filters.

　　There is this detailed process for each of those appliances. So this is something that is not really very easy. It might not be common sense or there might be things that people could forget. So it's very important for West Virginians who are able to start using their water again to check on those protocols¹⁶, and West Virginia American Water has made those available.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: But once they do this process, they are then able to drink the water?

　　ASHTON MARRA: We have been told that once they go through the process, completely flushing out of their homes and their businesses, the water is good for use.

　　The tests that are coming out of the treatment facility show that the water is testing at a safe level, safe for consumption, safe for use, safe for bathing. So, anything -- after you get all of that water out of your home system, the water is good to go. No further precautions need to be taken.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Ashton, you have been reporting on this story since it started a few days ago.

　　How are people -- finally, how are they holding up?

　　ASHTON MARRA: I think people have been frustrated¹⁷, to say the least.

　　This is obviously a hard time for everyone. But I can say that emergency management officials have really been handling this very well. People who are stuck in their homes, the elderly, maybe sick, they haven't had to do anything. They have had water and supplies delivered straight to them.

　　Now, as far as businesses go, you have to think about these people who work in restaurants, who are making minimum wage. This is a difficult time for them, because they haven't been working. But we do have some lawmakers who are putting a campaign together, asking West Virginians, as they return to these restaurants, to tip a little bit extra. Think of those people who are struggling to make ends meet and have lost a few days of work and need a little bit of extra help.

　　But we are recovering, and we will get there slowly.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, I know that's good news to everybody involved and all of us watching.

　　Ashton Marra with West Virginia Public Broadcasting, thank you.

　　ASHTON MARRA: Thank you.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: A number of questions have been raised about the regulation and oversight¹⁸ involved in this case and other recent accidents in the region.

　　Coral Davenport has been reporting on those as the energy and environmental correspondent for The New York Times.

　　Coral Davenport, welcome to the program.

　　As we just reported, this plant wasn't subject to state inspections. Why not?

　　CORAL DAVENPORT,The New York Times: Judy, it turns out the plant hadn't been inspected since 1991.

　　But that was legal under West Virginia state law. The state law stipulates¹⁹ that, because this was a storage facility, rather than a production or manufacturing facility, it wasn't subject to any regulations, inspections, permitting.

　　And so one of the first developments that's come from this is an immediate²⁰ call to change the state regulation. The governor and the head of the state environment department are talking about introducing some legislation that would at least firm up that inspection⁷ process.

　　It would add -- you know, add annual inspections to storage facilities. But there are a lot of complaints broadly about the regulatory environment in West Virginia and also West Virginia's history of accidents and disasters related to the chemical and coal industry.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Now, we -- we also just heard the county commissioner²¹, I think it was, said that the current owner of this plant and the previous owner knew, he said, that the conditions were poor in this plant. What is known about the state of this plant?

　　CORAL DAVENPORT: Well, that is -- that's sort of slowly unfolding -- or more rapidly unfolding as we go on.

　　The attorney general has launched an investigation. And although we don't yet know -- you know, there haven't yet been allegations of violations²³ or any kind of criminal allegations, the attorney general's office did say that, when you have a spill or a disaster, an accident of this magnitude, they're almost certain to find major violations, possibly a violation²² of the law.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Any evidence of previous accidents there?

　　CORAL DAVENPORT: Not that we have seen, you know, not that we have seen from these particular companies.

　　What's interesting again is, you know, this facility has a clean record from the EPA, no record of violations whatsoever²⁴. But that's also because there haven't -- there haven't been any inspections. So, its record is clean, but there really isn't anything -- you know, there hasn't been any inspections to make that record.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: And what about the fact that this is a plant, a storage plant for a chemical, but it's located on a river and very close to a water treatment plant?

　　CORAL DAVENPORT: On a river just a couple miles up from a water treatment plant. Again, this is something where a lot of local advocacy groups who have been pushing on this for a while say this is an example of sort of a systemic environment of lax regulations in West Virginia.

　　This is an area, the Kanawha Valley is known as Chemical Valley, because the chemical industry is the core central part of its economy. It has major chemical plants, companies like Dow, like DuPont. And these -- these are very influential²⁵ both in the region and in state politics.

　　So this is, you know, kind of one of the reasons that these outside groups are saying, you know, these chemical companies seem to have a lot more influence in weakening regulations than -- you know, than necessarily -- than the push by environmental advocates.

　　And, again, this is -- just in this area, this area known as Chemical Valley, this is the third chemical accident in five years.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, we are going to leave it there, a lot of questions being raised, for sure.

　　Coral Davenport with The New York Times, thank you.

　　CORAL DAVENPORT: Good to be here. Thanks.

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 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 pageant   

n.壮观的游行；露天历史剧

参考例句：

• Our pageant represented scenes from history.我们的露天历史剧上演一幕幕的历史事件。
• The inauguration ceremony of the new President was a splendid pageant.新主席的就职典礼的开始是极其壮观的。

4 containment   

n.阻止，遏制；容量

参考例句：

• Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
• Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说，心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。

5 elk   

n.麋鹿

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing.我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。
• The refuge contains the largest wintering population of elk in the world.这座庇护所有着世界上数量最大的冬季麋鹿群。

6 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

7 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

8 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 dilution   

n.稀释，淡化

参考例句：

• There is no hard and fast rule about dilution.至于稀释程度，没有严格的规定。
• He attributed this to a dilution effect of the herbicide.他把这归因于除草剂的稀释效应。

11 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

12 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。

13 density   

n.密集，密度，浓度

参考例句：

• The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
• The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。

14 faucets   

n.水龙头( faucet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Water faucets shall be chrome-plated type with ball valve. 水龙头外表为铬镀层。 来自互联网
• The plumber came that afternoon and fixed the faucets in some minutes. 当天下午，管子工来了，几分钟内便把水龙头安装好。 来自互联网

15 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

16 protocols   

n.礼仪( protocol的名词复数 )；（外交条约的）草案；（数据传递的）协议；科学实验报告（或计划）

参考例句：

• There are also protocols on the testing of nuclear weapons. 也有关于核武器试验的协议。 来自辞典例句
• Hardware components and software design of network transport protocols are separately introduced. 介绍系统硬件组成及网络传输协议的软件设计。 来自互联网

17 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

19 stipulates   

n.（尤指在协议或建议中）规定，约定，讲明（条件等）( stipulate的名词复数 )；规定，明确要求v.（尤指在协议或建议中）规定，约定，讲明（条件等）( stipulate的第三人称单数 )；规定，明确要求

参考例句：

• The trade contract stipulates for the settlement of balances in RMB. 贸易合同规定余额以人民币结算。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The contract stipulates for the use of seasoned timber. 合同上订明用干透的木料。 来自辞典例句

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 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

22 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

23 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

24 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

25 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。