U.S. Begins Chemical Weapons Burn

By Cynthia Kirk
Broadcast: August 15, 2003
This is Bill White with the VOA Special English Environment Report.
In the United States, the Army has started to destroy old chemical weapons at a base in the southern state of 1)Alabama. The operation began last Saturday at a storage center near the city of Anniston.
This is the first time the United States military has burned chemical weapons near a populated area. About thirty-five thousand people live within fifteen kilometers of the base.
Environmental and civil rights groups appealed to a federal court in Washington to 2)block the action. But a judge ruled that the opponents failed to show that the operation is a serious risk to the public.
The Army is destroying shells, rockets and other weapons. These contain deadly chemicals such as 3)sarin nerve gas and mustard¹ gas. Workers will remove the chemicals and cut the weapons into pieces for burning at almost six-hundred degrees Celsius². The Army will also burn the chemicals when enough is collected in a storage tank. The Army says it expects the 4)process to take seven years.
Workers in Alabama handled ten rockets last weekend. But the Army said equipment problems delayed the operation early this week. An Army spokesman³ said there was no danger of a chemical release.
The Army prepared for the burn, and dealt with legal opposition⁴, for several years. Army officials are providing protective clothing and equipment to people who live near the base. Warning systems and escape plans have been established.
5)Opponents, however, say they do not believe the burning is safe. And they say some schools have not yet received equipment to keep out dangerous chemicals if an accident happens. Army officials say they will carry out only limited burns until schools and community centers are fully⁵ protected.
The military says destroying the old weapons is safer than storing them. About seven-hundred-thousand weapons have been stored at the base since the nineteen-sixties. They have been kept in concrete structures covered in earth. But Army officials say that some of the chemicals have begun to leak.
The Army also has bases to burn chemical weapons in the state of Utah and on Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. But those bases are far from populated areas.
This VOA Special English Environment Report was written by Cynthia Kirk. And this is Bill White.

注释：
1) Alabama [7AlE5bAmE] n.阿拉巴马州（美国的一个州）
2) block [blCk] vt.防碍，阻止
3) sarin [5sB:rin] n.（军）沙林，甲氟膦酸异丙酯（一种用作神经性毒气的化学剂）
4) process [prE5ses] n.过程，进程
5) opponent [E5pEunEnt] n.对手，反对者

1 mustard   

n.芥子，芥末，深黄色，强烈的兴趣，热情的人

参考例句：

• This meat should be seasoned with salt and mustard.这肉里应该加点盐和芥末调味。
• This mustard is hot enough to bite your tongue.这种芥末很辣，你的舌头会吃不消的。

2 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

3 spokesman   

n.发言人，代言人

参考例句：

• The government spokesman gave a quick briefing to the reporters.政府发言人向记者们作了情况简介。
• They drew lots to decide who should be their spokesman.他们抽签决定谁是他们的发言人。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。