Text:Everybody’s Problem—Hazardous Waste
每个人的问题——危险废物
Every year ,billions of tons of solid wastes are discarded in the United Stastes. 美国每年丢去10亿吨的固体废物。These wastes range in nature from common household trash to complex materials in industrial wastes ,sewage sludge ,agricultural resideus ,mining refuse and pathological wastes from institutions such as hospital and laboratories.
这些废物的变化范围在平常家庭产生的垃圾到工业废物的复合材料、污水、农业废渣、矿渣和像医院、实验室这种大型机构产生的病理废物。
The U.S Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) estimated in 1980 that at least 57 million metric tons of the nation’s total waste load can be classified as hazardous. 1980年EPA估计一个国家负载的全部废物的至少5700 0000公吨会被列为危险废物。Unfortunately,many dangerous materials that society has “throw away” over recent decades have endured in the environment-making household words of “Love Canal”and”Valley of the Drums.” 不幸的是在
最近几十年中社会持续扔掉了许多危险物，从而产生了“爱河”和“桶谷”的家用词。These two incidents are not unique.The EPA has on file hundreds of documented cases of damage to life and environment resulting from the indiscriminate or improper management of hazardous wastes. 这两起事件并不是唯一的，EPA有数百起对生命和环境造成损害的案例，他们都是由于不加区别地或不适当地处理有害废物所造成的。The vast majority of case involve pollution of ground water——the source of drinking water for about half of the U.S. population—from improperly sited or operated landfills and surface impoundments (pits,ponds and lagoons). 大量的例子中包括了地面水的污染——大约半个美国人口的饮用水资源——从不合适的选址或正在运转的垃圾堆和地面上的蓄水（水坑、池塘和咸水湖）。In addition to polluting ground water, the improper handling or disposal of hazardons waste can cause several other kinds of environmental damage, as illustrated by these case histories (often involving more than one form of damage) from EPA records. 除了地面水的污染之外，还有像EPA所记录的资料里的这些案例所阐述的对危险废物的不正确处理或处置可能会引起许多其他种类的环境危害。
Hazardous  Waste  Can  Pollute  Ground  Water
危险废物能够污染地下水
● The water supplies of Toone and Teague, Tennessee, were contaminated in 1978 with organic compounds when water leached from a nearby landfill . 1978年当Tooe,Teague和Tennessee附近的垃圾场溶出废液时，这三个地方的供水就被有机化合物污染了。When the landfill closed, about six years earlier ,the site held some 350,000 drums,many of them leaking pesticide wastes. 大约6年前，这个垃圾场关了闭以后，这个地方仍有350000桶，而且许多会泄露出有毒的废物。Because the towns no longer have access to uncontaminated ground water, they must pump water in from othrer locations. 因为这个城镇已经没有机会用无污染的地下水，他们必须从其他地方抽水用。
● Ground water in a 30-square-mile area near Denver was contaminated from disposal of pesticide waste in unlined disposal ponds. 在Denver附近的一个30平方英里范围的地下水受到了污染，这个污染来自没有围起来的处理池塘的有毒废物的处理。The waste, from manufacturing activities of the U.S. Army and a chemical company, dates back to the 1943~1957 period. 从美国军队和一个化学公司生产过程产生的废水追溯到1943年—1957年
这个时期。Decontamination, if possible, could take several years and cost as much as $80 million. 如果有可能的话，要花几年时间和花费500万美元才能达到净化。
Hazardous Waste Can Contaminate River, Lakes, and Other Surface Water
危险废物能污染河流、湖泊和其他地表水
At least 1500 drums containing waste, primarily from metal-finishing operations, were buried near Byron, Illinois,for an unknown number of years until about 1972. 直到1972年为止不知多少年了，有至少1500桶主要来自金属加工操作的废物埋藏在伊利诺斯的拜伦附近。
Surface waters (and soil and ground water as well) were contaminated with cyanides, heavy metals, phenols and miscellaneous other materials. 地表水（还有土壤和地下水）被、重金属、苯酚和其他混合材料给污染了。Wildlife, stream life and local vegetation were destroyed. The disposal site suffered long-range damage from the toxic pollutants that drained into the soil.  野生生物、溪水中得生物和当地的植被被破坏了。流入土壤中的有毒的污染物使处理场所遭到了长期的破坏。
● About 17,000 drums littered a 7-acre site in Kentucky which became known as ‘Valley of the Drums’. 在Kentucky一个7英亩的地方大约有17000桶乱丢弃的废物，这个地方现为垃圾谷。Some 6000 drums were full, many of them oozing their toxic contents onto the ground. 大约6000桶的废物就已经达到饱和了，很多都慢慢地渗出有毒的内含物到地面上。Tn addition, an undetermined quantity of hazardous waste was buried in drums and subsurface pits. 另外，有不定量的危险废物被埋在桶里或地下的坑里。 In1979,EPA analyses of soil and surface water in the drainage area about 25 miles south of Louisville identefied about 200 organic chemicals and 30metals. 1979年，EPA对在Louisville南部的大约25英里的排水系统的土壤和地面水的分析鉴别出大约200种有机化合物和30种金属。
Hazardous Waste Can Pollute the air
  危险废物能污染空气
● In 1972, waste containing hexachlorlbenzene (HCB), one of the family of toxic organic compounds that contains chlorine, was disposed of in a landfill near Darrow and Geism. 1972年，含氯的有毒有机化合物的成员之一的含六氯苯的废物在Darrow和Geismar,Louisian
a附近的一个垃圾堆里被处理掉了。
The HCB vaporized and subsequently accumulated in cattle over a 100-square-mile area. Some cattle had to be destroyed.在超过100平方英里的地区，六氯苯蒸发后堆积在牛的身体里。一些牛必须被处理掉，This incident represented direct and indirect economic losses of over $380,000. Elevated, although subtoxic, levels of HCB in blood plasma were found in some area residents.这件事造成的直接和间接的经济损失超过了38000美元。在一些地区的居民的血浆中发现了提高的，但低毒的HCB水平。
A truck driver was killed in 1978 as he discharged waste from his truck into one of four open pits at a disposal site in Iberville Parish,Louisiana. 1978年，一个卡车司机死于非命，当时他从卡车上卸垃圾到Iberville Parish,Louisiana的一个敞开了4个垃圾坑的处置场中的一个垃圾坑。He was asphyxiated by hydrogen sulfide produced when liquid wastes mixed in the open pit. The area was surrounded by water and had a history of flooding.他是被液体废物在敞开的坑里混合时产生的氢闷死的，这个地区被水包围，而且有洪水泛滥的记载。
Hazardous Waste Can Burn or Explode
  危险废物会燃烧或爆炸
documented翻译
  A fire broke out in 1978 at a disposal site in Chester, Pennsylvania, where 30,000 to 50,000 drums of industrial waste had been received over a 3-year period.1978年，在宾夕法尼亚的chester的处置场发生了一起火灾，那里在3年多的时间里已经接收了30000~50000桶的工业垃圾。The smoke forced closing of the Commodore Barry Bridge and 45 firemen required medical treatment, mostly as result of lung and skin irritation from chemical fumes.这场厌恶使Commodore Barry Bridge关闭，45个消防人员得接受医学，这些人大多数是由于化学延期引起的肺和皮肤的刺激。。A number of homes are located within three blocks of the site; drummded waste was kept only 20 feet from a natural gas storage tank, and liquefied natural gas tanks were about 100 yards away. Waste was emptide directly on the soil of the 3-acre site;几个家庭住在离这个地区只有3栋房子的距离，这些垃圾离一个天然气储存罐只有20英尺的距离且离天然液化气储存罐有大约100码的距离垃圾被直接倒在一个3英亩大的土地上。some probably drained to the tidal section of the adjacent Delaware River. Waste may even have been dumped into the river.有些可能慢慢流到临近特拉华河的湿润地段，垃圾甚至可能被倒入河流中。