VOA常速英语2007年-Arrests Made in DRC After Toxic Waste Dump

By Selah Hennessy
Dakar
10 November 2007

At least seven people are said to be under arrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after radioactive mineral waste was poured into a river in the southeast of the country. Selah Hennessy reports from the VOA West and Central Africa bureau in Dakar that teams are currently working to rid the river of the waste.

Didace Pembe, Congo's environment minister, says the official who ordered the toxic¹ waste to be dumped has been arrested.

According to local reporter Eddy² Isango, seven people from the commission in charge of disposing the minerals are also under arrest.

On Wednesday, the government ordered an inquiry³ after officials in the southeast province of Katanga said tons of radioactive minerals had been dumped into Mura River, a source of drinking water for the nearby mining town Likasi. The town has a population of around 300,000.

Pembe says the waste has radiation levels 50 times more than the legal standard for safety.

He says the population is being informed through local radio and TV channels not to use the water for drinking, bathing, or for gardening.

He adds that clean up at the site has begun.

Congolese authorities had originally ordered the nearly twenty tons of copper⁴ ore containing uranium samples to be dumped in an abandoned uranium mine.

But Pembe says the majority of the toxic minerals were dumped in the river instead.  He says officials are tracing some waste that might have been dumped elsewhere.

Most of the copper ore belongs to the ** firm Magma-Lubumbashi.  The environment minister says the company did not request the waste to be dumped in the river.

1 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。

2 eddy   

n.漩涡，涡流

参考例句：

• The motor car disappeared in eddy of dust.汽车在一片扬尘的涡流中不见了。
• In Taylor's picture,the eddy is the basic element of turbulence.在泰勒的描述里，旋涡是湍流的基本要素。

3 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

4 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。