塞拉利昂调查接收外国垃圾协议

AS IT IS 2016-01-19 Sierra Leone Investigates Foreign Waste Agreement 塞拉利昂调查接收外国垃圾协议

The government of Sierra Leone is investigating an agreement to import waste from Lebanon.

The agreement permits the import of non-hazardous¹ waste into Sierra Leone. It does not permit the import of toxic² or dangerous materials.

The agreement was negotiated by Ibrahim Ben Kargbo. He is a former minister and senior presidential aide. He was recently elected to parliament.

In a statement released Monday, the government said it did not give permission to Kargbo to negotiate the deal. It said President Ernest Bai Koroma had ordered an investigation³ of the deal.

It said it understands the health and environmental risks of toxic wastes and would not expose its citizens to such wastes.

Kargbo told VOA that the agreement was part of a deal to build a fertilizer factory. He said he wrote a letter of agreement to a representative of a Dutch farm in Lebanon “who said he wanted to come here and set up a plant to manufacture fertilizer. I did inform him in that letter that if he wanted to go through the process of investing in this country, he should be very certain that, even if it is utilizing⁴ domestic waste, it should be toxic-free.”

Kargbo also said he told the representative that none of the imported waste can be toxic and that the agreement had to be approved by the government.

On Monday, investigators⁵ questioned Kargbo. He says he told them the letter of agreement came from his office. But he says the investigators released him because there was nothing illegal about the agreement.

He says he protected his country from the import of toxic waste. He said he was only working with the Dutch company to build a fertilizer factory in his country, which does not have such a factory.

Kargbo said President Koroma was not told about the agreement because it was still being negotiated. But he says the president would have been told about it. He says investors⁶ were to first meet with lower-level government officials. Then, when it was clear what the investors wanted to do, the president would be told.

Words in This Story

hazardous – adj. dangerous or harmful

toxic – adj. containing poisonous substances

expose – v. to cause (someone) to experience something or to be influenced or affected⁷ by something, sometimes negatively (often + to)

plant – n. a building or factory where something is made

utilize⁸ – v. to use (something) for a particular purpose

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 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。

3 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。

4 utilizing   

v.利用，使用( utilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Utilizing an assembler to produce a machine-language program. 用汇编程序产生机器语言的过程。 来自辞典例句
• The study and use of devices utilizing properties of materials near absolute zero in temperature. 对材料在接近绝对零度时的特性进行研究和利用的学科。 来自辞典例句

5 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

7 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。

8 utilize   

vt.使用，利用

参考例句：

• The cook will utilize the leftover ham bone to make soup.厨师要用吃剩的猪腿骨做汤。
• You must utilize all available resources.你必须利用一切可以得到的资源。