VOA慢速英语2019 福岛核电站将在2022年前耗尽储水空间

Operators of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant have predicted it will run out of storage space for radioactive water in three years.

日本福岛核电站的运营方预计，福岛核电站将在3年内耗尽放射性污水的储存空间。

The Tokyo Electric Company, or TEPCO, recently said the contaminated water will likely fill up all the plant’s available tanks by summer of 2022.

东京电力公司最近表示，受污染的水可能会在2022年夏天之前填满该电站所有可用的储水箱。

Three reactors¹ at the Fukushima plant suffered meltdowns after a 2011 earthquake and tsunami² shut down the plant’s cooling systems. It was the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. The accident forced 160,000 people to flee contaminated areas near the plant and many never returned.

2011年的那场地震和海啸导致该电站冷却系统被关闭，在此之后，福岛核电站的三座核反应堆发生了熔芯。这是1986年切尔诺贝利事件之后全球发生的最为严重的核灾难。这次事故迫使16万人逃离工厂附近的污染区域，很多人再也没有返回。

Since the disaster, radioactive water has leaked from damaged reactors and mixed with groundwater and rainwater at the plant. The water is treated to remove harmful materials and stored in large tanks. But TEPCO has said the treatment process cannot remove all radioactive particles from the water.

自从灾害发生以来，放射性污水从受损反应堆泄漏出来，并与电站的地下水和雨水混合。这些水经过处理除去有害物质，并储存在大型水箱中。但是东京电力公司表示，这种处理过程无法除去水中的所有放射性粒子。

Plant officials say more than one million tons of water is currently being stored in nearly 1,000 tanks. TEPCO says it plans to build more tanks to hold additional water. But even then, it predicts it will only be able to accept a total of 1.37 million tons. That would cause Fukushima to run out of space for water in 2022.

电站官员表示，目前有近100万吨水储存在近1000个水箱中。东京电力公司表示，该公司计划建造更多水箱储存更多的水。但是即便如此，该公司预计也只能容纳137万吨水。这将会导致福岛核电站在2022年耗尽所有储水空间。

A government group studying future storage solutions have identified several possibilities for dealing³ with the continued supply of contaminated water.

政府一个研究未来储水解决方案的小组明确了处理持续不断的污水的几种可能方案。

One proposal would involve the controlled release of water into the Pacific Ocean. Some nuclear experts, including members of the International Atomic Energy Agency, have said they believe that plan is the most realistic.

其中一项建议是将污水有控制地排入太平洋。包括国际原子能机构成员在内的一些核专家表示，他们认为这是最现实的一种方案。

However, fishermen and many people living in the area strongly oppose that proposal. They have said releasing the water into the ocean could cause widespread damage to Fukushima’s fishing and agriculture industries.

然而，当地渔民和居民强烈反对这一提议。他们说将水排入太平洋可能会对福岛渔业和农业产生广泛性的破坏。

Additional methods under consideration include ground injection or converting the radioactive water to steam or hydrogen and releasing it into the atmosphere.

其它考虑的方案包括注入地下或是将放射性污水蒸发进入大气。

Some nuclear experts have warned that additional long-term storage might be necessary if officials cannot decide on any of the proposals under consideration. But this would require additional land and storage tanks to be built.

一些核专家警告说，如果官员们无法选定任何考虑中的提案，就可能需要更多的长期储存空间。但是这需要更多土地以及建造更多水箱。

TEPCO spokesman Junichi Matsumoto told reporters the organization thinks contaminants produced from Fukushima work should stay within the plant area. He said long-term storage would delay other activities at the plant.

东京电力公司发言人松本纯一告诉记者，该组织认为福岛核电站产生的污染物应该留在电站内。他说，长期储存将会延缓电站的其它活动。

Matsumoto did not name a deadline for deciding what to do with the contaminated water. But he said he hopes to see the government lead public debates on the issue.

松本纯一并未确定决定如何处理这些污水的最后期限。但是他表示，他希望看到政府引导公众就这个问题进行辩论。

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

contaminated – adj. something made dirty or poisonous

convert – v. to change the appearance, form, or purpose of something

deadline – n. the time by which something must be done

1 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。

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 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。