财经金融新闻 常州外国语搬入毒地（在线收听）

If there are two things that we would dread to see in one place, they would be our children and toxic pollutants.

我们最不想同时看到的两件事物，孩子和有毒污染物。

But it seems that nightmare scenario has recently materialized at a school in the eastern province of Jiangsu.

但在江苏省，这样的情况却真实存在。

The Changzhou Foreign Languages School is a multi-lingual school with students between seventh and 12th grades.

常州外国语学校为多语种学校，分初中部和高中部。

In total the school has about 2,800 students and faculty members.

有教职员工，学生共约2800人。

It all started when it moved campuses to a suburb of Changzhou in last September, and students started complaining about foul-smelling air.

去年9月，学校迁址常州郊区，学生纷纷抱怨空气中的刺激气味。

Students and parents initially thought the smell originated from pesticide used on trees on the campus, but by December the smell was to become even more perceptible.

起初，学生和家长以为味道来自植物农药，直到12月份，异味更加明显。

Unbeknownst to them, it had been toxic chemicals in the soil under a closed pesticide factory across the street from the school.

让他们不清楚的是，新校区与农药厂仅一路之隔，且在土壤中发现有毒污染物。

One parent said "We couldn’t even bear the smell ourselves when we dropped off and picked up our children.

有家长称，他们在接送孩子时都无法忍受这股气味。

But they had to stay at school and breathe the toxic air the entire day. This is heart-wrenching."

而学生却要在学校里闻一整天，实在让人心痛。

Parents were sure to communicate those sentiments to local officials and school administrators, which led to a meeting to discuss the matter in early January.

家长向当地政府，学校管理层反映此事，并于1月初对此事进行商讨。

But during that particular meeting, environmental officials said that they hired an organization to monitor air quality which found there was no "volatile organic compounds in the air".

但在此次特别会议中，环保官员派遣有关小组进行空气检测，但空气检测结果显示无“挥发性有机物”。

Then, a group of 1,200 parents signed a letter demanding to know why the school chose that particular site for the new campus and how the monitoring group was measuring the air quality.

然而，1200名学生家长联名写信，要求公开选址原因，空气检测流程。

Classes have been cancelled since January 12.

学校自1月12日起开始停课。

Then on January 29 in a full u-turn of initial findings, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said that the odor was coming from an abandoned chemical factory, which was operational from 2000 to 2010.

1月29日，环保部发布最新情况，而此次发现却峰回路转，据环保部所述，异味来自一家废弃工厂，该工厂于2000年开始运作，并于2010年停运。

The ministry said it found levels of total petroleum hydrocarbons and benzyl chloride that exceeded its standard for soil.

环保部在土壤中发现超标石油烃和苄基氯。

The air has caused sore throats in some students and even rash.

许多学生出现咽喉疼，甚至过敏起疹。

Some parents have claimed their children have vomited due to the tainted air.

甚至有学生出现呕吐现象。

Indeed, as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says, exposure to total petroleum hydrocarbons can harm the lungs, central nervous system, liver and kidney.

据美国卫生和公众服务部表示，石油烃会损害肺部、肝脏、肾脏以及中枢神经。

Benzyl chloride, which is used in a range of manufacturing activities, is intensely irritating to the skin, eyes and mucous membranes.

苄基氯常用于工业生产，且刺激皮肤、眼部以及黏膜。