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VOA慢速英语--首个美国核废料倾倒标志着20年

时间:2019-03-31 10:45:32

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(单词翻译)

US Nuclear Waste Dump Marks 20 Years

Many years ago, the United States government started a project aimed at proving that nuclear waste can be safely left underground.

The government approved plans to set up a processing center, known as the Waste Isolation1 Pilot Plant, or WIPP, in the New Mexico desert. The plant received its first shipment of radioactive waste in March of 1999.

Twenty years later, workers have stored more than 12,380 shipments of waste in the plant’s underground salt caverns3.

What is WIPP?

WIPP is the U.S. government's only permanent underground storage area registered to take what is called transuranic waste. The term transuranic means waste made by the nation’s nuclear weapons program that has only radioactive elements heavier than uranium.

The nuclear waste repository was cut out of an ancient salt formation about eight-tenths of a kilometer below the desert. The idea was that the salt would eventually completely contain the waste.

Peter Swift is a scientist at Sandia National Laboratories. He worked on the development of WIPP. He noted4 that it was "exciting" to work on "what was then going to be the world's first deep-geologic repository for that class of waste." Swift added that "nothing that radioactive had been put that deep underground before. And that's still true 20 years later."

J.R. Stroble is the head of business operations at the Department of Energy's Carlsbad Field Office in New Mexico. He told the Associated Press that the goal of WIPP is to prevent radioactive waste from reaching "people and the things people need in order to live life on Earth."

Stroble and others in the communities surrounding WIPP strongly believe that the plant is a success. They point to 22 areas around the nation that have been cleaned up because of WIPP's storage capabilities5.

One example is Rocky Flats, a former nuclear weapons plant outside Denver, Colorado. It had a history of leaks, spills and other violations6.

Problems and Criticism of WIPP

For critics, the success of WIPP is not clear.

Don Hancock works with the Southwest Research and Information Center, a watchdog group. He notes that WIPP is "80 percent through its lifetime, and it has disposed of less than 40 percent of the waste and has cost more than twice as much as it was supposed to."

"How great of a success is that?" he asked.

A 2014 radiation leak at WIPP forced a costly7, nearly three-year closure.

More recently, the Department of Energy said it would investigate reports that workers may have been exposed to dangerous chemicals last year.

Hancock says a large problem is that the federal government and nuclear power plants keep producing more waste.

"How much nuclear power waste are we going to create, how much nuclear weapons waste are we going to create?" Hancock asked. He noted the importance of knowing answers to those questions, "so that we can then put our arms around the problem."

I'm John Russell.

Words in This Story

plant – n. the land and machinery8 needed for operating a business; a center available for service or production

cavern2 – n. a large opening underground; a cave

watchdog – adj. someone or something that guards against loss of waste

dispose – v. to put in place

repository – n. a place where a large amount of something is stored

expose – v. to make known; to make public


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1 isolation 7qMzTS     
n.隔离,孤立,分解,分离
参考例句:
  • The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
  • He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后,生活比较孤寂。
2 cavern Ec2yO     
n.洞穴,大山洞
参考例句:
  • The cavern walls echoed his cries.大山洞的四壁回响着他的喊声。
  • It suddenly began to shower,and we took refuge in the cavern.天突然下起雨来,我们在一个山洞里避雨。
3 caverns bb7d69794ba96943881f7baad3003450     
大山洞,大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Within were dark caverns; what was inside them, no one could see. 里面是一个黑洞,这里面有什么东西,谁也望不见。 来自汉英文学 - 家(1-26) - 家(1-26)
  • UNDERGROUND Under water grottos, caverns Filled with apes That eat figs. 在水帘洞里,挤满了猿争吃无花果。
4 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
5 capabilities f7b11037f2050959293aafb493b7653c     
n.能力( capability的名词复数 );可能;容量;[复数]潜在能力
参考例句:
  • He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大,自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
  • Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为,标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
6 violations 403b65677d39097086593415b650ca21     
违反( violation的名词复数 ); 冒犯; 违反(行为、事例); 强奸
参考例句:
  • This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
  • These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。
7 costly 7zXxh     
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的
参考例句:
  • It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
  • This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
8 machinery CAdxb     
n.(总称)机械,机器;机构
参考例句:
  • Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗?
  • Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

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