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　　Some of the most polluted places in the world are ports, resulting in health problems that some experts say can lead not only to respiratory problems, but cancer.
海港往往是世界上污染最严重的地方。专家说，这些污染的情况导致的健康问题，不仅是致呼吸道疾病而已，还可能会引发癌症。
In the United States, the western state of California has the nation's toughest environmental regulations when it comes to air quality at the ports. Its actions will impact ships from around the world.
针对海港城市的空气清洁问题，美国西岸的加利福尼亚州制订了全国最严格的环保法规。这项法规的执行，影响了来自世界各地的船只。
Los Angeles is not only the second-largest city in the United States, but it also ranks high for having some of the dirtiest air in the U.S.
洛杉矶不仅是全美国第二大都市，它污浊的空气，在美国也是名列前茅。
"We have the designation of perhaps having the worst air quality in the United States," noted¹ Christopher Patton with the Port of Los Angeles.
洛杉矶港务局的克里斯托弗·帕顿说：“我们大概已经被认定为全美国空气最污浊的城市。”
The twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are among the main culprits for generating pollution in the area. Patton says in the last five years, there has been an effort to clean up the air within the two ports, and they are not the only ones.
加州洛杉矶和长堤的海港是这一地区空气污染的罪魁祸首之一。帕顿说，过去五年来，他们一直努力清洁这两座港口的空气。
"Even many of the Chinese, Korean and Japanese ports are looking at the same things we are because the problem is universal," added Patton. "You have high-density population areas where you have industrial port complexes and as those populations grow and as the standard of living improves, people consume more. You're going to have more imported and exported products and that creates an air quality problem."
不过他说，世界上也不只有这两座港口面对这些问题：“即使在中国，韩国和日本的海港，也面对着和我们同样的问题。因为这是世界性的问题。在人口高度密集的地区里，如果有工业港口，人口一直增加，而且人民生活水平又提高了的话，人们的消费自然增加。你就会有更多的产品输入输出，这就产生了空气品质的问题。”
Heather Tomley with the Port of Long Beach says oceangoing vessels² create a significant amount of pollution.
长堤港务局的希瑟·汤姆利说，远洋商船造成很大的污染。
"They are greater than 50% of the emissions³ that we see at the ports and they are our biggest challenge," noted Tomley.
他说：“据我们在港区的观察，他们排放的废气占百分之50以上，是我们面临最大的挑战。”
To clean up the air, California is the only state in the U.S. to require all ships to use low-sulfur fuel when they are within 44 kilometers of the shore. A recent study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric⁴ Administration (NOAA) found that using this type of fuel reduced harmful emissions by as much as 90 percent. But ship pilot Mark Coynes says the engines of many ships are not designed for cleaner fuel.
为了清洁空气，加利福尼亚规定所有船只，在驶进距离岸边44公里范围内时，必须使用低含硫量燃料。美国各州中只有加州是这么规定的。美国海洋及大气管理局在最近的一项研究中发现，使用低含硫量燃料可以减少百分之90的有害废气。商船驾驶马克·科因斯说，很多船只的引擎设计，并不适合使用这种燃料。
"It not only can potentially damage the engine, but it could actually cause operational problems," noted Coynes.
他说：“这种燃料不仅可能损害引擎，也可能造成驾驶上的问题。”
But ship engines will have to be adapted. Starting in 2012, under the International Maritime⁵ Organization's regulations, all ships within 370 kilometers of North America will have to use cleaner diesel⁶ fuel. This is already the standard when it comes to the Baltic and North Seas.
不过，船只的引擎必须调整。在国际海洋组织的规定下，从2012年起，所有船只在进入距离北美洲海岸370公里水域内时，必须使用清洁柴油。事实上，这项规定已经适用于欧洲的波罗的海和北海水域。
Once docked, ships traditionally continue to use diesel to power the vessels. Under California law, the most visited ports in the state are now working towards providing shore power for certain types of ships so they can plug into an electric power supply and reduce emissions. Christopher Patton says shore power can also be found in the Port of Shanghai.
船只一旦停靠码头，传统上一直适用柴油作为动力。但加州法律规定，繁忙的港口计划向某一类船只提供岸边动力。因此它们可以靠接通电源方式取得动力，减少废气的排放。帕顿说，中国的上海也有岸边动力提供。
"They have a very active and aggressive shore power program that they're implementing⁷ throughout all their marine⁸ terminals and they're utilizing⁹ the technology that in fact we spearheaded here at the Port of Los Angeles for container ships," said Patton.
他说：“上海有一项非常积极和大规模的岸边动力供应计划。他们在所有码头安装这种设施。事实上，他们使用的这种科技，我们早已在洛杉矶港口率先为货柜轮船使用了。”
The ports around the U.S. are also trying to reduce emissions in cargo¹⁰ handling equipment and trucks. Some trucks now run on cleaner burning diesel fuel engines, while others are using compressed or liquefied natural gas. Peter Torres' company sells trucks that run on propane. Torres says he has suffered the effects of polluted air.
美国东西两岸的港口，也在努力减低货运设备以及卡车的废气排放。有些卡车已经使用清洁柴油引擎。其它一些卡车也有使用压缩或液化天然气燃料的。卡车代理商彼得·托里斯销售以丙烷作燃料的卡车。他说，因为他尝过空气污染的苦果。
"I've been a foreman and a longshoreman for 31 years and I've known in the last 15 years, I've felt a considerably¹¹ different feeling in my respiratory system in the way that I breathe and how much air I can take in and out," Torres said.
他说：“我做过码头工人和工头长达31年。在后来的15年里，我从吸入和呼出的空气量，感觉呼吸系统很不对劲。”
Heather Tomley with the Port of Long Beach says the hope is to get an 85 percent reduction in health risk. To help with that goal, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach hope to have electric vehicles that operate in and around the port complex within the next several years.
长堤港务局的汤姆利说：“我们最终的目标，是要将健康风险减少百分之85。”在未来几年中，洛杉矶和长堤港务局都希望在这两个港口一带航行的都是使用电力的船只。