VOA常速英语2014--New Nuke Facilities Being Built but Old Questions Remain 美国新建核设施 遗留老问题（在线收听）

New Nuke Facilities Being Built but Old Questions Remain 美国新建核设施 遗留老问题

In the midst of the current debate over whether to build the Keystone oil pipeline from Canada into the United States and the efforts to develop solar and wind power, nuclear energy is hardly being discussed. However, the Nuclear Energy Institute - an industry lobbying group -- reports the number of nuclear power plants in the United States is growing.

美国正在讨论是否建设从加拿大到美国的拱心石石油管道，和发展太阳能，风能，但很少有人提及核能。然而，行业游说机构核能源研究所说，美国核电站的数量正在增长。

The big news is new facilities. Four are currently being constructed: two each in South Carolina and Georgia. The Nuclear Energy Institute said there are 12 additional applications to build nuclear power plants.

重要新闻是有四所新的核设施正在建设之中，其中两所在南卡莱罗纳州，两所在乔治亚州。核能源研究所说，还有其他12个建立核电厂的申请。

Steve Byrne, of South Carolina Electric and Gas, said that for his company, nuclear was a good option.

南卡莱罗纳州电力燃气公司的拜恩代表他的公司说，核能是一个好的选择。

“Coal was in disfavor. The price of natural gas relatively high, so nuclear made a lot of sense to us. So we were a company that already operated a nuclear facility, had a tremendous site for adding new nuclear capacity, so we made the decision to go nuclear,” said Byrne.

拜恩说：“煤炭不被看好。天然气的价钱相对较高，所以对我们来说，用核能是有道理的。我们公司已经运营一座核设施，我们有巨大场地用于添加新的核发电能力，所以我们做了决定，采用核能。”

South Carolina currently has seven operating reactors. Georgia has six, plus the two new ones under construction.

南卡莱罗纳州现在有7个运行之中的反应堆。乔治亚州有6个，还有2个新的正在建设中。

Stephen Kuczynski, chairman and CEO of Georgia’s Southern Nuclear Operating Company, pointed out the long-term soundness of a nuclear plant.

库琴斯基是乔治亚南部核能运行公司的主席兼首席执行官。

“We see these as 60-year assets. Nuclear plants are high construction, but very low operating. But if you look at that over a 40-to-60-year period, it’s a very economical option," said Kuczynski.

他说：“我们把这些看作60年的资产。核能工厂造价很高，但是运行成本很低。如果你考虑到40到60年的时间段，这是一个非常经济的选择。”

Several plants have closed because they were not competitive with other power sources -- mainly cheaper natural gas. NEI favors a diversity of power sources for the nation, but NEI head Marv Fertel warned that this is not happening.

一些电厂由于与其他能源相比竞争力不足而被迫关闭，其中主要是由于廉价的天然气。核能源研究所支持国家的能源多样化。但是核能源研究所主任费泰尔警告说，目前情形并非如此。

"We are going all to gas because it’s cheap and it’s a good thing. But we are going all reliant on that and because of policies, we are driving renewables. So we are driving coal out because of environmental requirements and demands, and we are driving nuclear out for reasons that make no sense. And that’s not good for this country. We’re going to pay a price in reliability, a price in affordability, when the whole thing crashes,” warned Fertel.

费泰尔说：“大家争相使用天然气，因为它便宜而且是个好东西。但是我们会完全依赖它，出于政策原因，我们追求可再生能源。所以我们将由于环境要求和需要而淘汰煤炭，但是我们毫无理由抛弃核能。这不利于这个国家。一旦能源的来源发生大问题，我们将会为依赖某些能源和负担能力而付出代价。”

Opposition to nuclear power is strong, with some surveys showing more than half of Americans are against building more nuclear plants primarily because of safety concerns.

然而，反对核能的力量很强大，有些民意调查显示超过半数的美国人由于安全考虑，反对建设更多的核电站。

Phillip Museguus, of the anti-nuclear group Riverkeeper, said that in terms of economics and costs, nuclear doesn’t really make sense.

反核集团——河流保护组织的莫斯格斯说，就经济学和成本来说，没有理由采用核能。

"There are better ways to generate power; there are safe and cleaner ways. When you look at the price of natural gas in the U.S. economy, that is forcing many nuclear plants to close. Four nuclear facilities have closed in the past year and a half, so for the existing reactors, the economics are not good,” said Museguus.

莫斯格斯说：“有更好的生产能源的方法，有安全和更清洁的方法。看看美国天然气的价格，它将迫使很多核电厂关闭。过去的一年半中，四所设施被迫关闭，所以现有的反应堆的性价比并不高。”

Some 40 years ago, anti-nuclear groups like Riverkeeper began worldwide protests, but the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011 gave them more ammunition.

大约40年前，河流保护组织等反核集团开始在世界范围内抗议，2011年的福岛核灾难给了他们更多弹药。

The industry refutes claims that nuclear power is unsafe or susceptible to terrorism.

核能行业驳斥有关核能不安全或者易受恐怖主义影响的说法。

“What we’ve done is we spent a fortune on security since 9-11. Nuclear plants, if you talk to the FBI or anybody else would tell you, are the most hardened targets in America. Our problem right now is that we think that adding more security in some areas makes no sense and what we need to do is look at the effectiveness of what we have," said Fertel.

费泰尔说：“我们做的是从911之后在安全问题上投以重金。如果你和联邦调查局或者其他人谈话，他们会告诉你，核电厂是美国最难打击的目标。我们目前的问题是，我们认为在某些地区增加安保没有意义，我们需要做的是看看我们拥有的效率。”

As for the disposal of nuclear waste, that remains a contentious issue in the United States -- with Congress so far unable to agree on a solution.

核废料的处理在美国仍然是一个有争议的问题，国会目前仍未就此达成一个解决办法。