新闻周刊:水中含毒素敲响美国水安全的警钟(2)

One expert estimates that more than 90 percent of lakes, rivers and reservoirs used as drinking water sources in the United States are vulnerable to algal blooms. Equally troubling: The majority of water treatment plants aren’t equipped to remove toxins³, which require pricey treatment methods like ozone⁴ disinfection. When the algae⁵ interfere⁶ with drinking supplies, timely remedies can be hard to come by, leaving some towns with no choice but to order the residents to stop using tap water, sometimes for weeks at a time. Although municipal water managers are reluctant to talk publicly about the issue, “they’re very worried,” says Deepak Mishra, an associate professor of geography at the University of Georgia who studies the global distribution of harmful algal blooms.

据一位专家估计，美国90%以上的作为饮用水源的湖泊、河流和水库，都容易受到藻华的影响。同样令人不安的是，大多数水处理厂都没有配备清除毒素的设备，这需要臭氧消毒等昂贵的处理方法。当藻类干扰饮用水供应时，很难找到及时的补救措施，这使得一些城镇别无选择，只能命令居民停止使用自来水，有时一次甚至停止使用数周。虽然市政供水管理人员不愿公开谈论这个问题，“但他们非常担心，”乔治亚大学研究有害藻华全球分布的地理学副教授迪帕克·米什拉说。

So far, nobody has died from algal toxins in the U.S., but the possibility looms¹. A high enough dose of microcystin could cause liver or kidney failure, says David Farrer, a public health toxicologist with the Oregon Health Authority. A combination of microcystin and cylindrospermopsin, another potentially deadly toxin², is thought to have killed 52 people in Brazil in 1996, though they were dialysis patients who suffered intravenous exposure to contaminated tap water during treatment.

到目前为止，美国还没有人死于海藻毒素，但这种可能性正在增大。高剂量的微囊藻毒素会导致肝肾功能衰竭，俄勒冈州卫生局的公共卫生毒理学家大卫·法瑞尔说道。1996年，巴西死亡52人，后认为死因是一种微囊藻毒素和另一种可能致命的毒素圆柱精蛋白的组合，虽然他们是透析患者，在治疗过程中静脉暴露在受污染的自来水中。

Comprehensive data on algae contamination in the U.S. is lacking, largely because municipalities are not required to test for it. Some states and townships began testing a decade or so ago, but the benchmarks water administrators⁷ use to determine if the water is safe to drink are largely preliminary—the Environmental Protection Agency implemented⁸ its first trial protocol⁹ just this year.

美国缺乏有关藻类污染的全面数据，主要是因为市政当局不需要对其进行检测。约十年前，一些州和乡镇开始进行测试，但水管理人员确定饮用水是否安全的基准是初步的——就在今年，美国环境保护署实施了首个试点议定书。

1 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 toxin   

n.毒素，毒质

参考例句：

• Experts have linked this condition to a build-up of toxins in the body.专家已把这一病症与体内毒素的积累联系起来。
• Tests showed increased levels of toxin in shellfish.检验表明水生有壳动物的毒素水平提高了。

3 toxins   

n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
• Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 ozone   

n.臭氧，新鲜空气

参考例句：

• The ozone layer is a protective layer around the planet Earth.臭氧层是地球的保护层。
• The capacity of ozone can adjust according of requirement.臭氧的产量可根据需要或调节。

5 algae   

n.水藻，海藻

参考例句：

• Most algae live in water.多数藻类生长在水中。
• Algae grow and spread quickly in the lake.湖中水藻滋蔓。

6 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

7 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

8 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

9 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。