VOA慢速英语2019 巴黎圣母院火灾后变"毒院"

Poisonous Lead Dust a Result of Notre Dame¹ Cathedral Fire

巴黎圣母院火灾后变“毒院”

Paris has many old buildings with lead, yet does not have rules about lead dust in public spaces.

巴黎有许多含铅的老旧建筑，但是却没有关于公共场所铅含量水平的规定。

The issue has become an important concern after last spring's huge fire at Notre Dame Cathedral. The fire, in April, released thousands of kilograms of toxic² lead dust into the atmosphere in just a few hours.

巴黎圣母院自春季突发大火后，这一问题成为人们关注的焦点。今年4月的那场大火在短短数小时内就向大气中释放了数千公斤有毒铅尘。

"When the Notre Dame fire happened, we didn't have any threshold for what represented dangerous lead levels outdoors," Anne Souyris told the Associated Press. She is the Paris City Hall deputy mayor in charge of public health. "It was a wake-up call...the amount of lead that was burned in Notre Dame was unprecedented³."

安妮·苏里斯（Anne Souyris）告诉美联社，“当圣母院突发火灾时，我们对室外危险的铅含量水平没有任何阈值”。她是巴黎市政厅负责公共卫生的副市长。“这是一个警钟……巴黎圣母院火灾释放的铅含量水平是前所未有的。”

Lead in Paris

巴黎的铅含量水平

The Associated Press (AP) news agency has found that many countries lack rules about lead in outdoor, public spaces. Other historic European capitals such as Rome and London do not have rules for outdoor lead dust levels. That is also the case for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization.

美联社发现，许多国家缺乏关于户外以及公共场所铅含量的规定。罗马和伦敦等其他欧洲历史名城没有室外铅尘含量的规定。美国环境保护署和世界卫生组织也不例外。

Poisoning from lead dust can cause permanent loss to mental ability, seizures⁴, coma⁵ or death. Pregnant mothers and young children are at the greatest risk.

铅中毒可导致永久性的智力丧失、癫痫、昏迷甚至死亡。孕妇和幼儿面临的风险最大。

Concerns about lead are especially strong in Paris. Lead is common in many parts of Paris' 19th-century buildings — in roofs, balconies, floors and terraces. Experts say because Paris is a highly preserved historic city it also is a danger spot for lead.

在巴黎，对铅尘的担忧尤为严重。铅在巴黎19世纪的许多建筑中都很常见，包括屋顶、阳台、地板和露台。专家表示，由于巴黎是一座保存完好的历史名城，其也是一个危险的铅污染城市。

"Paris is a beautifully preserved city," Souyris said. "But we realize we have also beautifully preserved its lead."

“巴黎是一座保存完好的城市，”苏里斯说道。“但我们意识到，铅也被完整地保存下来。”

Neil M. Donahue is a chemistry professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "Preservation⁶ does make Paris unusual," he said. "Incineration of one of the most famous roofs in the world may be especially dramatic, but there is no alchemy in this world. Lead will remain lead forever."

Neil M. Donahue是宾夕法尼亚州匹兹堡市卡耐基梅隆大学的化学教授。“保存完好使巴黎与众不同，”他说。“焚毁世界最著名的屋顶之一或许尤其引人注目，但这个世界上没有炼金术。铅永远是铅。”

The fire also brought attention, among officials and the public, to the dangers of lead. In June, Paris' Regional Health Agency advised that all pregnant women and young children living near the site take a test for lead levels. The agency said 12 children in the surrounding areas tested positive for elevated lead levels in their blood since the fire. None had to be hospitalized or given medication.

这场火灾也引起了官员和公众对铅（中毒）危险的关注。今年6月，巴黎地区卫生机构建议该地区附近的孕妇和儿童都要接受铅含量检测。该机构表示，火灾发生后，周边地区的12名儿童血液铅含量检测呈阳性。目前无人需要住院或接受药物治疗。

One child's lead exposure came from a source other than the cathedral: the lead balcony of his family's apartment. It is unlikely the child would have been tested at all had it not been for the fire.

其中一名儿童铅中毒场所不是巴黎圣母院，而是自家公寓的阳台。如果不是因为这场火灾，这名儿童根本无需接受检查。

Despite the lead fallout from the fire, experts say tourists should not change their travel plans to one of the most visited cities in the world.

尽管火灾释放出铅尘，但专家表示，游客不应该改变到这座全球最受欢迎的城市的旅游计划。

How to remove lead dust in Notre Dame?

如何清理巴黎圣母院的铅尘？

However, poisonous lead dust remains⁷ a problem inside the fire-damaged cathedral.

然而，有毒铅尘仍然是这座被焚毁的大教堂的一个问题。

Aline Magnien is director of the Historic Monuments Research Laboratory. She recently sent a team of scientists to Notre Dame. Their goal is to find out how to remove lead from inside the famous religious building without causing more damage.

艾琳·马尼恩（Aline Magnien）是历史遗迹研究实验室的主任。她最近派了一队科学家前往巴黎圣母院。他们的目标是找出如何在不造成更大破坏的情况下将铅尘从这座著名的宗教建筑内清理出去。

"It's a race against the clock," she said. "The lead is a real problem. The cathedral is exceptionally precious. And we don't have the luxury of time."

“这是一场与时间的赛跑，”她说。“铅尘确实是一个问题。这座大教堂弥足珍贵。我们的时间有限。”

1 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

2 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。

3 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

4 seizures   

n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物

参考例句：

• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因，有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句

5 coma   

n.昏迷，昏迷状态

参考例句：

• The patient rallied from the coma.病人从昏迷中苏醒过来。
• She went into a coma after swallowing a whole bottle of sleeping pills.她吃了一整瓶安眠药后就昏迷过去了。

6 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。