美国国家公共电台 NPR--Methamphetamine contamination forces some Colorado libraries to close for cleaning

Methamphetamine contamination forces some Colorado libraries to close for cleaning

Transcript¹

Cleanup is expected to cost the libraries hundreds of thousands of dollars. The American Library Association says it is not seeing similar meth-related closings in other states.

SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:

Since December, at least six public libraries in Colorado have been forced to close their doors because of contamination by methamphetamine. From member station KUNC, Leigh Paterson reports.

LEIGH PATERSON, BYLINE²: Terzah Becker has worked as a librarian at Boulder³'s main library branch for almost 20 years.

TERZAH BECKER: When I decide it's time to do some rounds, out we go.

PATERSON: Every hour or so, Becker walks in a big loop, wearing her ID, holding a walkie-talkie.

BECKER: Generally, I'll go back this way first because there's public seating back here.

PATERSON: Walking past large windows overlooking the foothills and patrons picking over books in the stacks, Becker is keeping an eye out for trouble.

BECKER: I like to know who's here and what they're doing. So right now, we've got some folks in the study room.

PATERSON: Library staff are doing more of these rounds since traces of meth were found a few months ago. Becker strongly believes this public space is for everybody. But right now, safety is also a priority.

BECKER: The message is you are safe, and we're taking care of this building, and we're taking care of you.

PATERSON: After testing in December showed elevated levels of meth in seating areas and bathrooms, including the children's bathrooms, the entire library closed down for three weeks. After hiring specialists to clean the building top to bottom and remediate the meth residue⁴, it reopened in January. But restrooms remain closed. Becker says that when she heard people were smoking meth in the building, she wasn't completely surprised. They've been finding needles outside of the library for years.

BECKER: Yes, it was surprising and it was disheartening. But in the end, it seemed inevitable⁵.

PATERSON: Cleanup is expected to cost around $200,000. Upholstered furniture and computers are now gone. Contractors⁶ are replacing contaminated vents⁷ and fans in the restrooms. The American Library Association says it's not seeing similar meth-related shutdowns in other states.

MIKE VAN DYKE⁸: I would think that the risk of health effects in these public spaces is very, very low.

PATERSON: Industrial hygienist Mike Van Dyke says any real threat to visitors is unclear. But Colorado law requires cleanup when meth is present in certain concentrations. Van Dyke, who teaches at the Colorado School of Public Health, explains that state standards were originally written with residential⁹ exposure in mind.

VAN DYKE: And typically, we think about that mostly in terms of a child - you know, crawling across contaminated carpets, crawling across contaminated furniture.

PATERSON: In a public bathroom, he says, it's a completely different scenario¹⁰. People are generally just passing through.

VAN DYKE: We don't have the regulations to deal with this sort of situation. And people get concerned when they find out that their bathroom is contaminated with methamphetamine.

PATERSON: The state's health department says it may recommend new cleanup standards for public spaces.

Gordon Holman is Boulder's facilities maintenance manager. He opens one of the library bathrooms with a key and points into the gaping¹¹ holes workers have made above each stall.

GORDON HOLMAN: You'll see where they removed drywall, and then you can see the duct work that will also be removed.

PATERSON: Back in late November and into December, strange smells were reported in the bathrooms.

HOLMAN: We were called in to see if we could take care of the odor. And then when my custodial¹² group started getting sick, then it's time to start figuring out why.

PATERSON: A custodian¹³ and two security guards became dizzy after going into those restrooms. Soon after, testing showed that people had been smoking meth in there. The residue from it is extremely sticky, hard to clean and can be transferred all over by fingers and clothes.

HOLMAN: I don't think when I took this position I would ever be dealing¹⁴ with this.

PATERSON: Boulder is trying to prevent this from happening again. The library has brought on an additional security guard. Restroom access will be limited once the bathrooms reopen.

BECKER: This is not just a Boulder library problem. This is a Boulder library problem because libraries are a microcosm of an entire society.

PATERSON: Terzah Becker has been seeing social problems in the library for years. These days, she says staff are dealing with bigger incidents more often. They recently had an informational meeting with local police on how to identify various drugs. Becker says this is not what she signed up for when she went to library school.

BECKER: I'm angry and frustrated¹⁵, and I want my job just to be normal. I want to be able to just order books and make people library cards and teach seniors how to download books. I don't want to be dealing with walking around and having to police people.

PATERSON: And yet Becker has mixed feelings, like empathy for the people who are bringing drugs into the library. Dealing with these issues, she says, has made her a better, more compassionate¹⁶ person.

For NPR News, I'm Leigh Paterson in Denver.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

4 residue   

n.残余，剩余，残渣

参考例句：

• Mary scraped the residue of food from the plates before putting them under water.玛丽在把盘子放入水之前先刮去上面的食物残渣。
• Pesticide persistence beyond the critical period for control leads to residue problems.农药一旦超过控制的临界期，就会导致残留问题。

5 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

6 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 vents   

（气体、液体等进出的）孔、口( vent的名词复数 )； （鸟、鱼、爬行动物或小哺乳动物的）肛门； 大衣等的)衩口； 开衩

参考例句：

• He always vents his anger on the dog. 他总是拿狗出气。
• The Dandelion Patch is the least developed of the four active vents. “蒲公英区”在这四个活裂口中是发育最差的一个。

8 dyke   

n.堤，水坝，排水沟

参考例句：

• If one sheep leap over the dyke,all the rest will follow.一只羊跳过沟，其余的羊也跟着跳。
• One ant-hole may cause the collapse of a thousand-li dyke.千里长堤，溃于蚁穴。

9 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

10 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

11 gaping   

adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大

参考例句：

• Ahead of them was a gaping abyss. 他们前面是一个巨大的深渊。
• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 custodial   

adj.监护的，照管的

参考例句：

• The teenagers were convicted of manslaughter and given a two-year custodial sentence. 这些青少年被判过失杀人罪，及二年的监禁（拘留）刑罚。
• This article interrogates the cultural experience of being a non custodial mother. 本文审视一位无监护权的母亲所感受到的文化体验。

13 custodian   

n.保管人，监护人；公共建筑看守

参考例句：

• Benitez believes his custodian is among the top five in world football.贝尼特斯坚信他的门将是当今足坛最出色的五人之一。
• When his father died his uncle became his legal custodian.他父亲死后，他叔叔成了他的法定监护人。

14 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

15 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。