VOA标准英语2010年-Oil-Tainted Waste Raises Health, Envir

The arrival of oil-tainted waste to federally approved landfills across the Gulf¹ coast is raising concerns are raised about the potential impact on the environment and public health

 An estimated 700 million liters of oil have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico since the April 20th explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.

Waste Management
Gulf Coast landfills are receiving tons of oil spill cleanup waste.

As the oil has spread and washed ashore² at Gulf Coast beaches and wetlands, cleanup crews have been trying to scoop³ up what they can. The've collected tons of oily waste that's now being dumped in landfills in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Residents and environmentalists worry about the long-term effects of the oily trash.

New waste entering landfills

People who live near waste landfills are accustomed to seeing trucks dumping normal household waste such as food, packaging, appliances, furniture and yard cuttings.

But the sight of workers wearing white protective suits and gloves hauling in tons of oil-contaminated waste - including bags of sandy tar⁴ balls, vegetation, used oil booms, rags and other clean-up supplies - has caused alarm among some Gulf coast communities. They're concerned about potentially toxic⁵ waste entering their local landfills.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to allow BP, the British oil company responsible for the spill and its cleanup, to dispose of solid oil waste in approved landfills along the U.S. Gulf Coast. 

No liquid oil waste will be dumped.

Protected sites

Jeremy O'Brien sees no problem with this strategy.  

He is the director of applied⁶ research for the Solid Waste Association of North America, a professional organization that promotes the efficient and environmentally-sound management of municipal solid waste. O'Brien notes that composite liners underneath⁷ and above landfill waste offer protection to the environment. Additionally, two feet of clay under the liner offers increased protection to the groundwater.

"So the bottom portion of the landfill is designed to prevent any leachate that's generated by the landfill from exiting the landfill and contaminating the groundwater," says O'Brien. "They've been installed for the last almost 15 years now and tests show that they work very well."

Waste Management is a private company that operates several of the landfills that are receiving BP oil cleanup waste. Spokesman Ken⁸ Haldin says a combination of testing by BP, the Environmental Protection Agency and landfill operators, including Waste Management, should ensure that debris⁹ from the oil cleanup can safely be added to household waste in these facilities. He adds that landfills can easily accommodate the unexpected additional waste.

Like other kinds of trash dumped into landfills, the waste from the Gulf cleanup will eventually decompose¹⁰, releasing a variety of gases and liquids which are vented¹¹ or disposed of in turn. But in certain landfills, including some accepting the BP cleanup, waste, heat and methane¹² gas produced by decomposition¹³ are being used to generate energy. Two hectares of treated landfill can generate enough electricity to power several thousand homes.

Best option

Still, there are potential hazards associated with dumping the Gulf oil waste into landfills.

Allen Hershkowitz with the Natural Resources Defense¹⁴ Council, a private environmental group, says air quality around landfill sites must be carefully checked when oil-contaminated waste is added to normal household trash.

According to Hershkowitz, no landfill liner system is completely leak-proof, meaning there is some possibility that the industrial quantities of waste coming from the oil cleanup could pollute local underground water supplies.  

"So what this points out is that these types of oil disasters are not only posing risks to marine¹⁵ life and to fisheries and to the economy of coastal¹⁶ communities," he says. "They also pose long-term risks to those communities hosting the landfills where the oil saturated¹⁷ materials are being deposited."

Hershkowitz says, ideally, the Gulf cleanup's oily trash should be disposed of in an energy-producing furnace, but there are currently no facilities large enough to handle the volume of waste being generated by the cleanup efforts.

Another option, is to put the waste aside and dispose of it properly when resources are available. But the environmental waste expert concedes that for the time being, landfills are the only practical option.
 

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

3 scoop   

n.铲子，舀取，独家新闻；v.汲取，舀取，抢先登出

参考例句：

• In the morning he must get his boy to scoop it out.早上一定得叫佣人把它剜出来。
• Uh,one scoop of coffee and one scoop of chocolate for me.我要一勺咖啡的和一勺巧克力的。

4 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

5 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。

6 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

7 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

8 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

9 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

10 decompose   

vi.分解；vt.（使）腐败，（使）腐烂

参考例句：

• The eggs began to decompose after a day in the sun.鸡蛋在太阳下放了一天后开始变坏。
• Most animals decompose very quickly after death.大多数动物死后很快腐烂。

11 vented   

表达，发泄（感情，尤指愤怒）( vent的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He vented his frustration on his wife. 他受到挫折却把气发泄到妻子身上。
• He vented his anger on his secretary. 他朝秘书发泄怒气。

12 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

13 decomposition   

n. 分解, 腐烂, 崩溃

参考例句：

• It is said that the magnetite was formed by a chemical process called thermal decomposition. 据说这枚陨星是在热分解的化学过程中形成的。
• The dehydration process leads to fairly extensive decomposition of the product. 脱水过程会导致产物相当程度的分解。

14 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

15 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

16 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

17 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液