美国国家公共电台 NPR--The Army is escalating one of its toughest battles: fighting mold

The Army is escalating¹ one of its toughest battles: fighting mold

Transcript²

The U.S. Army is teaching soldiers to identify and report mold in barracks, housing and offices — as part of a long-running battle against mold contamination.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The Army is escalating one of its toughest and longest-running battles - the war against mold. A new plan of attack makes mold prevention a basic part of being a soldier. Jay Price of member station WUNC reports from Fort Bragg, N.C.

JAY PRICE, BYLINE⁴: Sergeant⁵ Major David Cutshall walks into a barracks room for a routine inspection⁶. He immediately looks up at the ceiling.

DAVID CUTSHALL: That is the start. See it? See what I'm talking about?

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Yes, Sergeant Major.

PRICE: Cutshall points at tiny black dots - together, enough to maybe cover a dime⁷ - dotting a vent³ cover just inside the door - mold. The residents, Privates Second Class Aubrey Smith and Indie Ziegler listen attentively⁸.

CUTSHALL: Since you're new to this - right? - new to the Army, in hot, humid areas - right? - mold in barracks tends to be a problem.

PRICE: The Army is using these routine room checks as a teaching opportunity about mold, which can cause health issues that vary greatly, depending on the type of exposure and how susceptible⁹ someone is. The push started last year after serious mold issues forced more than a thousand Bragg soldiers to relocate from a cluster of barracks. A dozen of the buildings will be torn down. That and mold problems on other bases triggered an Army-wide inspection of barracks, family housing, and offices. Mold was found and cleaned up in more than 2,000 places. Now the Army is bringing its nearly half a million soldiers into the fight.

OMAR J JONES: And the primary effort there is inform and educate them in terms of how to report.

PRICE: Lieutenant¹⁰ General Omar J. Jones leads Army Installation Management Command, which is responsible for maintaining thousands of buildings.

JONES: So if they see mold or have a concern, how do they tell someone? And who do they tell to make sure that we can get the right experts there to help them?

PRICE: Jones says the Army-wide plan also includes standards for defining and cleaning up mold, training for remediation and inspection teams on each base, tracking mold issues with sophisticated software to identify trends, and giving higher priority to mold reports.

JONES: Our standard - if someone has put in a work order request, someone has put in a report of mold, we will have a certified¹¹ expert responding to them in less than 24 hours.

PRICE: The problem the Army faces is common. One study estimated 47% of U.S. homes had substantial dampness or mold issues. Another found 100% had mold on some surfaces.

PHILIP FAIREY: Mold is ubiquitous.

PRICE: Philip Fairey of the University of Central Florida is an expert on mold issues in structures.

FAIREY: It's everywhere all the time. There's mold spores¹² everywhere.

PRICE: And he says the right amount of moisture on a surface can be the catalyst¹³. How the spores get that moisture is what humans have to figure out and prevent, and it's often complicated. The cause of moisture that triggers, say, mold inside walls isn't always obvious, and whether a particular mold problem is serious is a big question. Take mold in bathrooms, a common issue in the barracks and, Fairey says, in every home with a tile shower.

FAIREY: Every single one, because there's enough moisture there to support the growth of mold. So is that a problem or not? It's not really a problem for me because, I mean, a little bit of Clorox will fix it.

PRICE: For mold issues too big for the soldiers to handle themselves, work crews are brought in. The Army inspections¹⁴ found by far the most problems were on bases in the humid southeast, like Bragg. Base officials there say they're watching to see if the effects of educating the young soldiers are reflected in data on work orders. Meanwhile...

CUTSHALL: The caulk¹⁵ is gone. Put a work order in. And they'll come out, and they'll redo the caulk.

PRICE: That educating continues, one barracks room at a time.

For NPR News, I'm Jay Price at Fort Bragg, N.C.

(SOUNDBITE OF UNWED SAILOR'S "LONDON FOG")

1 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

2 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。

3 vent   

n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄

参考例句：

• He gave vent to his anger by swearing loudly.他高声咒骂以发泄他的愤怒。
• When the vent became plugged,the engine would stop.当通风口被堵塞时，发动机就会停转。

4 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。

5 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

6 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

7 dime   

n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角

参考例句：

• A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
• The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。

8 attentively   

adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神

参考例句：

• She listened attentively while I poured out my problems. 我倾吐心中的烦恼时，她一直在注意听。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She listened attentively and set down every word he said. 她专心听着，把他说的话一字不漏地记下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

10 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

11 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

12 spores   

n.（细菌、苔藓、蕨类植物）孢子( spore的名词复数 )v.（细菌、苔藓、蕨类植物）孢子( spore的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Ferns, mosses and fungi spread by means of spores. 蕨类植物、苔藓和真菌通过孢子传播蔓生。
• Spores form a lipid membrane during the process of reproducing. 孢于在生殖过程中形成类脂膜。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 预防生物武器

13 catalyst   

n.催化剂，造成变化的人或事

参考例句：

• A catalyst is a substance which speeds up a chemical reaction.催化剂是一种能加速化学反应的物质。
• The workers'demand for better conditions was a catalyst for social change.工人们要求改善工作条件促进了社会变革。

14 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 caulk   

v.堵缝

参考例句：

• Shipbuilders caulk wooden boats with oakum and tar.造船工匠用麻丝和沥青填塞木船缝隙。
• The sailors couldn't find anything to caulk the seam in the boat.水手们找不到任何东西来填塞船上的裂缝。