2006年VOA标准英语-20 Years After Chernobyl Europe Debates Nu

By Lisa Bryant
Paris
25 April 2006

Chernobyl    
  
Twenty years after an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukraine, European countries remain deeply divided over the use of nuclear power.  Some are embracing nuclear energy, while others are phasing out their old plants.  From Paris, Lisa Bryant reports that Chernobyl's legacy¹ also remains² deeply problematic across Europe.

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The Chernobyl disaster occurred two decades ago, but the jury is still out in Europe over just how much death and destruction it wrought³.  The explosion at the nuclear power plant most seriously affected⁴ Ukraine, along with nearby Belarus and Russia.

But the blast also spread a nuclear cloud across much of Western Europe.  A U.N. sponsored study published last year concluded that fewer than 50 people died as an immediate⁵ result of the accident at a Ukraine nuclear power plant, and 4000 people died as result of Chernobyl-related cancer.  The investigation⁶ by 100 scientists predicted that in the long term, no more than 9000 deaths might be attributed to the effects of longer-term radiation.

A number of experts back the UN study.  That includes Andre Aurengo, head of the nuclear medicine section of La Pitie-Salpetriere hospital group in France.

Aurengo told French radio there was not a huge difference in the number of cancer cases and genetic⁷ problems seen in areas directly affected by Chernobyl and in areas that were not.  But he said psychological scars could have created health problems.

But a new study commissioned by Green Party members in the European  parliament concludes Chernobyl was far more destructive.  It asserts the number of deaths was about 15 times higher than the U.N. study suggests.

Yet another study released by the environmental group Greenpeace last week estimates the Chernobyl-related cancer deaths were even higher.  Frederic Marillier is a nuclear campaigner for Greenpeace France.

Marillier says that beyond the deaths, many people have suffered from digestive, respiratory and cardiovascular problems as a result of the radiation fallout from Chernobyl.  He argues the U.N.-sponsored report underestimated the number of deaths partly for political reasons.  The study was supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, which these critics say has an interest in promoting nuclear energy.

Despite Chernobyl's controversy⁸, a number of European countries are forging ahead in nuclear power.  Foremost among them is France, where about 80 percent of the country's electricity is generated by 58 nuclear plants.  The country is considering building a 59th plant. 

Finland and Poland are also building new nuclear power stations.  The British government is launching an energy debate this year that might result in building new nuclear plants, and Lithuania and the Netherlands have delayed phasing out their nuclear generators⁹.

Steve Kidd is director of strategy and research at the World Nuclear Association - a London-based trade association supporting nuclear power.  He says many European countries are worried about relying on oil and gas supplies from unstable¹⁰ countries.

"This energy security aspect in Europe has suddenly become more pressing with the increasing dependence¹¹ on particularly gas from Russia and also from North Africa," Kidd says. "And that is something that over the last year or so has encouraged some people to look into nuclear  where they were formerly¹² not looking."

As oil prices soar, nuclear energy is increasingly looking attractive economically as well.

The environment is also a factor.  Nuclear plants do not emit carbon dioxide, which most scientists say is a major cause of global warming.  Under the Kyoto protocol¹³, European countries must sizably cut their carbon-dioxide emissions¹⁴.

Goulven Graillat, heads economics and industrial strategy at France's E.D.F. electricity company.  E.D.F. runs the country's nuclear power plants.

"More and more people are moving, as we did, in the direction not to oppose any form of energy.  But to have a mix starting with energy efficiency," Graillat says. "Renewables of course, but it is not really sufficient.  I think that more and more people, when they think deeply on all the different factors, the Kyoto protocol and also the greenhouse case, and the price of fossil fuels - the coal, but mainly oil and gas - they begin to think that nuclear has a role to play."

But not all of Europe is embracing nuclear energy.  Sweden and Germany have banned building new plants, and largely phased out existing ones - although Germany's ruling Christian¹⁵ Democrats¹⁶ have suggested they might try to overturn the ban.  Other countries are also skeptical¹⁷ about nuclear energy.

Twenty years after Chernobyl, nuclear critics like Marillier of Greenpeace argue that nuclear energy remains unsafe.

Marillier says experts once argued the risk of a nuclear accident was almost non-existent.  But that was before Chernobyl.  Even today, he notes, the risk of another explosion remains.  And he believes that fear is one reason why nuclear energy will continue to be problematic in Europe.  

1 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

4 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。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 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。

7 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

8 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

9 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

11 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

12 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

13 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。

14 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

15 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

16 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。