美国有线新闻 CNN 日本计划将核废水排入太平洋

Starting in Japan, there's a difficult decision and a controversy¹ ahead of the Asian country.

首先来关注日本，这个亚洲国家做出了一个艰难的决定，由此引发争议。

It needs to get rid of contaminated radioactive water, more than 1 million metric tons of it.

日本需要处理超过100万吨的放射性污水。

Japan plans to treat this water and release it into the Pacific Ocean. The water was used at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

日本计划过滤这些污水后将其排放到太平洋。福岛第一核电站曾使用这些污水。

It was damaged back in 2011 when a powerful earthquake and tsunami² swept over this part of Japan.

2011年，一场强地震和海啸席卷日本福岛地区，致该核电站受损。

The disaster cut off the nuclear plants power and cooling systems.

这场灾难切断了核电站的电力供应和冷却系统。

So to prevent it's damaged nuclear reactors³ from melting down, Japanese officials had to pump in tons of cooling water.

因此，为防止受损的核反应堆熔化，日本官员不得不向反应堆中注入大量冷却水。

This water became radioactive, contaminated in the process and some of it seeped⁴ into damaged tunnels and basements and mixed in with ground water.

在这一过程中，这些冷却水被核辐射污染，变得具有放射性，其中部分污水渗入受损的管道和地下室，混入地下水中。

Massive tanks were built to store the contaminated liquid and they're expected to be completely filled up late next year.

该地为储存这些污水建造了大规模储存罐，但这些储存罐将在明年年底前被全部注满。

What Japan plans to do is remove most of the radioactive material from it and release it gradually into the sea.

日本计划清理核废水中的大部分放射性物质，然后逐步将其排入太平洋中。

A radioactive isotope⁵ called tritium will remain in the waste water.

放射性同位素氚仍会留在废水中。

Japan's government says it has very low impact on people's health and that the concentration released will be lower than international standards.

日本政府表示，将废水排放到海洋中对人们健康的影响非常小，而且释放的浓度低于国际标准。

A United Nation's official says this has been done before and that there's no harm to the environment but local fishermen strongly opposed the idea.

一名联合国官员表示，此前也有国家这样做过，对环境没有危害，但当地渔民强烈反对这种做法。

And China and South Korea, two of Japan's closest neighbors, have voiced quote "grave concerns" about it.

中国和韩国是日本的两个近邻，两国都对此表示“严重关切”。

They say Japan first needs to make full use of safe disposal methods and then needs to consult with them before emptying the water into the sea.

他们表示，在将废水排入海洋之前，日本首先要充分利用安全方法处理核废水，并与两国进行协商。

The United States, a close ally of Japan, says the Asian country appears to have found an approach in line with global standards.

日本的亲密盟友美国表示，这个亚洲国家似乎找到了符合全球标准的方法。

If all stays on schedule, Japan will start releasing the water in two years.

如果一切如期进行，日本将在两年后开始排放核废水。

1 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。

2 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

3 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

4 seeped   

v.（液体）渗( seep的过去式和过去分词 )；渗透；渗出；漏出

参考例句：

• The rain seeped through the roof. 雨水透过房顶渗透。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Icy air seeped in through the paper and the room became cold. 寒气透过了糊窗纸。屋里骤然冷起来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

5 isotope   

n.同位素

参考例句：

• The isotope ratio is directly used for comparing oils or gases.同位素比率直接用于比较各种石油或天然气。
• How to apply a radio isotope?如何运用放射性同位素？