VOA标准英语2010年-Oil Spill Raises Public Health Concern

The Gulf¹ oil spill could lead to some serious public health problems, according to a new report released this week.

As the environmental and economic disaster continues to unfold in the Gulf of Mexico following the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, attention has largely focused on efforts to cap the gushing² sea-bottom well.

However, the Center for American Progress, an independent policy research group, has examined the potential health risks associated with the spill.

Public health dangers

The report's co-author, Lesley Russell, says the hundreds of millions of liters of crude oil that have poured from BP's broken well into the Gulf of Mexico over the past three months pose a variety of public health dangers.

She says cleanup workers in close contact with crude oil, smoke fumes³ and dispersants have reported feeling ill, as have many residents whose lives have been turned upside down.

 
US Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Prentice Danner
Increased patrols move along the Texas coast in response to reports of tar⁴ balls washing ashore⁵.

Russell says the long-term impact of toxins⁶ in the environment could produce respiratory problems, excess cancers, endocrine and fertility issues, problems with contaminated seafood⁷ and post traumatic stress syndrome⁸.

No scientific effort was made to monitor the health effects after the Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989.

Russell notes that the few studies that do document the long-term impact of an oil spill - such as the disaster off the coast of Spain in 2002 - are cause for serious concern.

"They've shown long-term respiratory problems and some problems with endocrine malfunctions⁹ and also with DNA¹⁰ breakages of the sort that could potentially lead to cancers."

Call for health investigation¹¹

The Center for American Progress report calls for a coordinated¹³ public health investigation into the Gulf spill, to be directed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

 
US Coast Guard, Ensign Frankie L. Temple
Coast Guard Cutter Cypress¹⁴' skimmer hard at work in a large patch of oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

The agency would coordinate¹² government-wide efforts to collect, monitor and standardize¹⁵ data and target funding for immediate¹⁶ and longer-term needs.

California Congresswoman Lois Capps supports that plan, which she says would not require new legislation or the creation of a new federal agency to proceed.

Capps adds that BP - the British oil giant primarily responsible for the spill and its cleanup - should not be entrusted¹⁷ with monitoring the health effects of the oil disaster.

"They are not a public health entity," says Capps. "And they lack the experience, the expertise¹⁸ and even the incentive¹⁹ to faithfully protect public health and safety."

Holding BP accountable

But BP is still very much in the picture, says another of the report's co-authors, Ellen Marie Whelan, associate director of Health Policy at the Center for American Progress.

Whelan says standardized²⁰ data monitored over time will be crucial to any future legal actions taken to hold BP accountable for its actions.

"We have a causative agent here. We know that it has been BP that has done this, and we want to try to make sure that the costs of this response are covered by BP," she says. "We applaud the fact that there is a $20 billion escrow account put into place, but we want to make sure that is seen as a down payment and opened-ended, depending on what the needs are as we follow this through."

Another key element of the proposed public health response is that once it's established, it can be deployed²¹ for any disaster, at any time, says Center for American Progress visiting scholar Lesley Russell.

"We shouldn't be doing this on an ad hoc basis. We should have something ready to go from the very beginning." Russell adds that the center's proposed plan underscores the need for immediate action, and she is hopeful federal health officials concerned about the Gulf oil spill will be guided by its recommendations.
 

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 gushing   

adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• blood gushing from a wound 从伤口冒出的血
• The young mother was gushing over a baby. 那位年轻的母亲正喋喋不休地和婴儿说话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 fumes   

n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体

参考例句：

• The health of our children is being endangered by exhaust fumes. 我们孩子们的健康正受到排放出的废气的损害。
• Exhaust fumes are bad for your health. 废气对健康有害。

4 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

5 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

6 toxins   

n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
• Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

8 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

9 malfunctions   

n.故障，功能障碍（malfunction的复数形式）vi.失灵（malfunction的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• The mood of defeat was as pervasive as the odor of malfunctions and decay. 失败的情绪就象损坏腐烂的臭味一样弥漫全艇。 来自辞典例句
• Possibility of engine malfunctions due to moisture, are lessened. 发动机故障的可能性，由于水分，也将减少。 来自互联网

10 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

11 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

12 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

13 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

14 cypress   

n.柏树

参考例句：

• The towering pine and cypress trees defy frost and snow.松柏参天傲霜雪。
• The pine and the cypress remain green all the year round.苍松翠柏，常绿不凋。

15 standardize   

v.使符合标准，使标准化

参考例句：

• We will extend and standardize legal services and provide effective legal aid.拓展和规范法律服务，积极开展法律援助。
• There is a drive both to standardise components and to reduce the number of models on offer.正在为实现零部件标准化和减少推出的型号数量而努力。

16 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

17 entrusted   

v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He entrusted the task to his nephew. 他把这任务托付给了他的侄儿。
• She was entrusted with the direction of the project. 她受委托负责这项计划。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

19 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

20 standardized   

adj.标准化的

参考例句：

• We use standardized tests to measure scholastic achievement. 我们用标准化考试来衡量学生的学业成绩。
• The parts of an automobile are standardized. 汽车零件是标准化了的。

21 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。