VOA慢速英语2020 农达致癌案和解 拜尔组建科学团队预防未来诉讼

German chemical company Bayer has agreed to let an independent scientific team study the health effects of its popular weed killer¹, Roundup. Legal experts say the company hopes results of the study will prevent future lawsuits³ by people who claim the product is harmful.

德国拜耳化工公司已经同意让一个独立科学团队研究其颇受欢迎的农达除草剂对健康的影响。法律专家表示，该公司希望研究结果能够防止声称该产品有害的人士在未来提起诉讼。

Bayer agreed Wednesday to pay as much as $10.9 billion to end legal cases brought by U.S. Roundup users who say the product gave them a form of blood cancer. But as part of the settlement agreement, Bayer had to find a separate solution aimed at limiting future claims without removing the product from stores.

拜耳公司周三同意支付高达109亿美元，以结束美国农达使用者发起的法律诉讼，后者称该产品使他们患上了某种类型的血癌。但是作为和解协议的一部分，拜耳必须找到一个单独的解决方案，以便在不下架该商品的前提下限制将来的索赔。

The company decided⁴ to take a risk that the scientific study will support its claim that the chemical glyphosate is safe for agricultural use. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup.

该公司决定冒一次险，看科学研究是否支持该公司所谓化学品草甘膦可安全用于农业的说法。草甘膦是农达中的活性成分。

Regulators worldwide have found glyphosate not to be carcinogenic. That includes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the European Chemicals Agency.

世界各地的监管者都发现草甘膦不会致癌。这其中就包括美国环境保护署和欧洲化学品管理局。

But the World Health Organization's cancer research arm found the weed killer to be a "probable carcinogen" in 2015. And since 2018, three U.S. juries, who listened to scientific evidence from both sides during trial, found that Roundup causes cancer.

但是世卫组织的癌症研究部门在2015年发现除草剂是一种可能的致癌物。而自2018年以来，3个美国陪审团在审判期间听取了双方的科学证据后都认为农达会致癌。

David Noll is a law professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey⁵. He told Reuters news agency that Bayer is "taking a huge risk by doing this." He said the company hopes "time can show that the science underlying⁶ the plaintiffs' claims is bad."

戴维·罗尔是新泽西州罗格斯大学的法学教授。他对路透社表示，拜耳“此举将承担巨大风险。”他说，该公司希望“时间可以证明原告主张的科学证据是错误的。”

Many details of the proposal have not yet been released and a final settlement must be approved by a federal judge. But the settlement plan calls for an independent team of scientific experts, who will likely be chosen and agreed upon by both sides.

该提案的诸多细节尚未公布，最终解决方案必须获得联邦法官批准。但是和解方案要求建立一个由科学专家组建的独立团队，可能的成员将由双方选定。

The company will pay $1.25 billion to support the team's research, an amount that does not include any payments to settle future lawsuits.

该公司将支付12.5亿美元用于支持该团队的研究，这一数字不包括用于解决未来诉讼的任何款项。

The scientific review process is expected to take at least four years. Findings by the team would be legally binding⁷ on Bayer, as well as anyone who has used Roundup before Wednesday, but not developed cancer.

这一科学审查过程预计至少需要4年时间。该团队的发现将会对拜耳以及任何在周三前用过农达但未患上癌症的人具有法律约束力。

If the scientific team finds glyphosate to be non-carcinogenic, those users could not bring legal action. If the team does find glyphosate causes cancer, however, Bayer could face many new lawsuits, with possible damages decided at a later date.

如果该科学团队发现草甘膦不致癌，则这些使用者将无法提出法律诉讼。但是，如果该团队确实发现草甘膦致癌，则拜耳可能会面临许多新的诉讼，以及随后确定的损害赔偿。

Bayer said Wednesday the lead plaintiffs' lawyers have agreed to the plan. However, Reuters was not immediately able to reach those lawyers for comment.

拜耳周三表示，原告首席律师已经同意该方案。但是，路透社未能立即联系到这些律师发表评论。

In the past, lawyers representing people who said Roundup gave them cancer have claimed Bayer manipulated scientific studies and misled the scientific community. Bayer denies those claims.

过去，声称农达致其患癌者的代表律师声称，拜耳操纵了科学研究并误导了科学届。拜耳否认了这些说法。

Company officials on calls with reporters and experts said they were confident the scientific review would find Roundup safe.

公司官员在与记者和专家通话时表示，他们非常有信心科学审查将会发现农达是安全的。

Scientific teams have been set up in other major cases involving mass plaintiffs against Bayer. But those cases were generally not part of a settlement process, legal experts said.

在涉及大宗原告起诉拜耳的其它重大案件中也成立了科学团队。但是法律专家表示，这些案件通常不是和解程序的一部分。

Bayer's proposal was "creative but risky⁸" and will likely face problems in court, said Adam Zimmerman, a professor at Loyola Law School in California.

加利福尼亚州洛约拉法学院的亚当·齐默尔曼教授表示，拜耳的提议“具有创造性，但是也有风险，”可能会在法庭上面临问题。

The experts said many details of the proposal remain unclear. One unknown is whether people who have not yet gotten sick could give up their rights to a future lawsuit² under the plan.

专家表示，该提案的诸多细节尚不清楚。其中一个未知因素是尚未患病的人士是否会根据该方案放弃未来诉讼的权利。

I'm Bryan Lynn.

我是布莱恩·琳恩。

1 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

2 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

3 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

6 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

7 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

8 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。