切尔诺贝利三十年后风险仍在

AS IT IS 2016-04-26 Chernobyl, Risky¹ Still, Thirty Years Later 切尔诺贝利三十年后风险仍在

Tuesday marks the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, the world’s worst nuclear accident.

The effects of the disaster are still felt today.

On April 26, 1986, a reactor² exploded at a nuclear power center in the town of Chernobyl, in what was then the Soviet³ republic of Ukraine. The reactor caught fire, and it released huge amounts of radiation. Many emergency workers died. Soviet officials ordered 116,000 people living around the power plant to leave the area. Another 220,000 were forced to leave later as the “death zone” -- the nuclear contamination area -- expanded.

Recently, Associated Press reporters visited the edge of the contamination zone in Belarus. They found that milk from a dairy farm there contains radioactive isotopes⁵. The isotopes give off radiation -- and can harm people and other living things.

Tests found that the milk contains radioactive isotope⁴ levels at least 10 times higher than the country’s food safety limits.

The farm was about 45 kilometers north of the former Chernobyl nuclear plant. The dairy farmer said his cows produce milk for a local factory, called Milkavita. It produces Parmesan cheese that is sold mostly in Russia.

Milkavita officials rejected the AP laboratory results as “impossible.” They said their own tests show that radioactive isotopes in their milk supply are well below safety limits.

Belarus President Alyaksandr Lukashenka said Monday that cleaning up the radioactive fallout from the nuclear accident has been a “major and pressing task” for his country for 30 years.

Possible danger is nearby

Scientists are warning that it is possible a new disaster could be hiding in forests around the closed power plant.

Canadian scientist Timothy Mousseau is a leading expert on the Chernobyl disaster. He told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that forest fires could send clouds of toxic⁶ radioactive material up into the skies over Europe.

Mousseau said two acts of suspected arson⁷ caused “large fires” around Chernobyl over the past year. The fires burned a long time, but they “weren’t particularly hazardous⁸ in terms of radioactivity.”

He added that a third fire last year burned through part of the ‘red forest,’ which was the most contaminated part of the area. This fire was small, and contained quickly. But, he said, it is the kind that can “do serious harm if it had spread much more.”

Mousseau explained that the radioactivity in the woods would go back up into the atmosphere. Depending on which way the wind was blowing, and whether it was raining or not, it could land somewhere else.

His and other research into the Chernobyl accident suggests that the toxic cloud from a major fire could carry different kinds of radioactive materials across Europe. 

At the time of the accident 30 years ago, he said, a huge cloud from the fire at Chernobyl rose into the atmosphere. This allowed radioactive material, in his words, “to be transported for thousands of miles.”

Now the risk has increased, partly because of rising temperatures on Earth’s surface. In addition, dead leaves from plants, fallen logs or dry grass could catch on fire.  

"This dead organic matter on the surface of the soil is highly radioactive," Mousseau said. When it dries out, it becomes a possible fire threat, and provides the fuel for large and dangerous forest fires.

While it has been 30 years since the Chernobyl nuclear accident, it has been only five years since Japan’s deadly Fukushima-1 plant disaster.

Other nuclear disasters

The first big hit to nuclear power came at the end of March 1979. That is when a new reactor in the American state of Pennsylvania partially⁹ melted down.

There was no evidence of health issues tied to the accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. But it started the debate about the safety of nuclear energy that continues around the world today. People ask whether splitting atoms to create energy is a safe, effective and economical way to get electricity to our cities.

There are about 400 reactors¹⁰ working in 31 countries. More than 60 are being built in 15 countries.

The Fukushima disaster will take a century to cleanup and cost hundreds of billions of dollars. Nuclear power was not used in Japan for nearly two years, but two reactors were restarted there last year. The debate over nuclear power continues in the island nation. Japan depends on imports for about 90 percent of its main energy needs.

Those against nuclear power usually support the use of “green” power, like wind and solar power. But the supporters of nuclear power say it is safe, and more effective than wind or solar.

Adding to peoples’ concerns over nuclear power is the fact that experts still do not agree on how many people lost, or will lose, their lives because of the Chernobyl accident.

Fewer than 100 emergency workers died from the radiation. The World Health Organization warned years ago that Chernobyl would cause 4,000 additional deaths. But the environmental group Greenpeace ordered a study that shows, in the end, 93,000 people could die.

The town of Chernobyl still is home to about 3,000 people. They continue to work on decommissioning, or closing down, the plant. They are only permitted to stay in the area for 14 days to reduce their risk of radiation exposure.

Scientists say the nuclear exclusion¹¹ zone will not be safe enough for humans to live there for another 20,000 years.

Yet in one part of the area, a few hundred people who were evacuated¹² have come back to live. Many of the residents are older adults. Ukrainian officials quietly let them stay there.

The residents grow their own food, even with the warnings that food could be affected¹³ by the radioactive material. It appears some people who were sent away after the accident just wanted to be back home.

Words in This Story

contamination –n. made unfit for use by undesirable¹⁴ elements

radioactive isotopes –n. any one of different forms in which the atoms of a chemical element can occur—that have been exposed to radiation

fallout – n. the radioactive particles that are produced by a nuclear explosion and fall through the atmosphere

task – n. a job for someone to do

toxic – adj. containing poisonous substances

arson -n. when a person sets a fire to cause damage

1 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

2 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

3 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

4 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？

5 isotopes   

n.同位素；同位素( isotope的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the many isotopes of carbon 碳的诸多同位素
• Tritium is one of the mildest radioactive isotopes. 氚是最和缓的放射性同位素之一。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 arson   

n.纵火，放火

参考例句：

• He was serving a ten spot for arson.他因纵火罪在服十年徒刑。
• He was arraigned on a charge of arson.他因被指控犯纵火罪而被传讯。

8 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

9 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

10 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。

11 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

12 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

13 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

14 undesirable   

adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子

参考例句：

• They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
• Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。