VOA双语新闻：8、美国准备销毁叙利亚化学武器（在线收听）

美国准备销毁叙利亚化学武器

The U.S. Defense Department is preparing to test a system it plans to use to destroy Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles at sea. Officials are offering reassurances that the process will be safe.

美国国防部正在准备测试用于海上销毁叙利亚化学武器弹药库的系统。官员们正在让人们相信这个过程会很安全。

With civil war raging, destroying the weapons inside Syria is not an option.

随着内战加剧，在叙利亚内部销毁武器不可行。

So the U.S. is drawing from decades of experience in destroying its own stockpiles and is offering to put that knowledge to work aboard the ship, the Cape Ray, where equipment is being loaded to neutralize Syria's sarin and mustard gas at sea.

所以美国根据自身几十年来销毁自己的武器库的经验，提出要把这方面的知识用于实践。普雷号船上，用于在海上中和叙利亚沙林和芥末气体的设备被搬运上了船。

"We've destroyed more than 90 percent of our stockpile of chemical weapons from the Cold War era here in the United States, and we continue to do that work in a couple of sites in the United States, including the same technology that we plan to use on the craft to destroy Syria's chemical weapons," said Jennifer Elzea, a Defense Department spokeswoman.

国防部发言人詹妮佛·埃尔滋说： “我们在美国已经销毁了冷战时期的百分之九十的化学武器储备，我们在美国的一些站点继续销毁工作，其中包括我们打算在那艘船上用来销毁叙利亚化学武器的技术。”

The process involves neutralizing the chemicals by mixing them with water and other substances. The U.S. decided to do the process at sea when it became clear that paperwork and compliance with environmental and safety regulations on land would mean missing disposal deadlines.

这个程序包括通过混入水和其他材质中和化学药品。当知道在陆地上销毁这些武器需要准备公文和环境协调的时间将错过销毁的截至日期时，美国决定在海上销毁这些武器。

Daryl Kimball heads the Arms Control Association, which advocates against weapons of mass destruction.

达里尔·金博尔是提倡反对大规模杀伤性武器武器销毁联合会的负责人。

“One of the reasons they're pursuing this sea-based option is that the aggressive schedule for the removal and the destruction of the chemical weapons makes it difficult for any country to take on this task," he said.

他说：“他们采取这个海上选择的原因之一是紧凑的撤离和销毁化学武器的时间表使得任何国家都难以承担这项任务。”

Officials say the process - though never tried aboard a ship - is safe. They say the decision to neutralize the chemicals at sea is not an attempt to circumvent any country's environmental regulations.

官员说，虽然从未在船上进行过，但这个过程是安全的。他们说在海上中和化学武器的决定不是试图规避任何国家的环境规定。

Where the waste from the operation will be processed remains a question. U.N. officials are examining bids from more than 40 companies in various industrialized countries.

这项操作的废弃物将在什么地方被处理还是一个问题。联合国官员正在检查来自40多个发达国家的公司的投标。

Paul Walker of the Green Cross environmental group says neutralizing the weapons at sea is a good idea. But he's calling for careful disposal.

绿色十字环境集团的保罗·沃克尔在Skype中说，在海上中和武器是一个好主意。但是他建议要小心处理。

"If we treat this toxic waste, it should be treated in an obviously very, very good way, but in full protection of environment and public health so that no one is really injured or even perceives that they may be being injured," he said.

他说：“如果我们要处理这些有毒废物，应该用一个明确的、非常好的、但是全面保护环境和公共健康的方法，这样就没有人会受伤害或者感到他们可能会被伤害。”

Pentagon officials say once the stockpiles are neutralized, the waste will be taken to a commercial disposal facility on land and processed the same way other hazardous material is.

五角大楼官员说，一旦化学武器被中和了，废弃物将被送往一个陆上化学销毁设施，并且按照处理其他有毒材料的方法处理。

“This low level effluent will be stored on the ship. Nothing will be going into the ocean during this process," said Pentagon spokeswoman Elzea.

发言人詹妮佛·埃尔滋说：“这些低水平流出物将被储存在船上。在这个过程中没有任何东西将进入海洋。”

U.N. inspectors have identified at least 20 tons of mustard gas and more than a thousand tons of materials used to make sarin and other weapons that Syrian forces used to kill more than a thousand civilians earlier this year.

联合国检查官员确认了至少20吨芥末气体和1000多吨用于制造沙林和其他叙利亚军队今年早些时候用于杀害1000多名平民的材料。

Under a deal that followed threats of U.S. military action against the Syrian government, all chemical weapons must be removed from the country by December 31.

根据在美国将对叙利亚政府采取军事行动的威胁下达成的协议，所有的化学武器必须在12月31日前撤离该国。