博帕尔居民纪念毒气泄漏事件
文章来源:未知 文章作者:meng 发布时间:2009-12-04 06:48 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
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People in the Indian city of Bhopal have been marking 25 years since a leak at a gas plant killed thousands and left many more seriously ill.

印度城市博帕尔的居民纪念导致数千人死亡和更多人重伤的毒气泄漏事件。

Protesters are demanding action to clean up Bhopal site.
Protesters are demanding action to clean up Bhopal site.

Activists1 and survivors2 marched through the city, chanting slogans(标语,口号) against the government and Union Carbide - the US firm that owned the plant at the time.

The incident was the worst industrial disaster in history.

Forty tonnes of a toxin3(毒素,毒质) called methyl isocyanate(异氰酸甲酯) leaked from the factory and settled over slums on 3 December 1984.

Campaigners say at least 15,000 were killed within days and that the effects of the gas continue to this day.

The site of the former pesticide4(杀虫剂) plant is now abandoned. The state government of Madhya Pradesh took it over in 1998, but environmentalists say poison is still found there.

Toxin fears

Residents of the city have held a week of commemoration(纪念) events in the lead-up to the anniversary.

Early on Thursday, protesters marched to the site chanting: "Down with the government", and "Down with Union Carbide".

One victim who joined the march told Reuters news agency: "Punish the guilty and remove the toxic5 waste from the plant that still contaminates(弄脏,污染) the soil and groundwater."

The BBC took a sample of water from a hand pump in constant use just north of the plant and had it tested in the UK.

It contained nearly 1,000 times the World Health Organization's recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride(四氯化碳), a pollutant6 known to cause cancer and liver damage.

The state government of Madhya Pradesh is now responsible for the site and earlier this week Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told the BBC that the water supply around the plant was safe.

On Wednesday, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said: "The enormity(暴行) of that tragedy of neglect still gnaws7 at our collective conscience."

He reaffirmed his government's "commitment to resolving issues of safe drinking water, expeditious8(迅速的,敏捷的) clean-up of the site, continuation of medical research, and any other outstanding issues connected with the Bhopal gas tragedy".

Campaigners say Bhopal has an unusually high incidence of children with birth defects(缺陷,瑕疵) and growth deficiency, as well as cancers, diabetes9(糖尿病) and other chronic10 illnesses(慢性病).

This is seen not only among survivors of the gas leak but among generations born much later, they say.

No-one has ever stood trial over what happened at Bhopal.

Twenty years ago, Union Carbide paid $470m (£282m) in compensation(赔偿,补偿) to the Indian government.

Dow Chemicals, which bought the company in 1999, says this settlement resolved all existing and future claims against the company.



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1 activists 90fd83cc3f53a40df93866d9c91bcca4     
n.(政治活动的)积极分子,活动家( activist的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
  • Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 survivors 02ddbdca4c6dba0b46d9d823ed2b4b62     
幸存者,残存者,生还者( survivor的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
  • survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者
3 toxin hn5wb     
n.毒素,毒质
参考例句:
  • Experts have linked this condition to a build-up of toxins in the body.专家已把这一病症与体内毒素的积累联系起来。
  • Tests showed increased levels of toxin in shellfish.检验表明水生有壳动物的毒素水平提高了。
4 pesticide OMlxV     
n.杀虫剂,农药
参考例句:
  • The pesticide was spread over the vegetable plot.菜田里撒上了农药。
  • This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields.这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。
5 toxic inSwc     
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。
6 pollutant N1Zzy     
n.污染物质,散布污染物质者
参考例句:
  • Coal itself is a heavy pollutant.煤本身就是一种严重的污染物。
  • Carbon dioxide may not be a typical air pollutant.二氧化碳可能不是一种典型的污染物。
7 gnaws 04e1b90666fd26b87dd1f890c734a7bb     
咬( gnaw的第三人称单数 ); (长时间) 折磨某人; (使)苦恼; (长时间)危害某事物
参考例句:
  • Time, whose tooth gnaws away everything else, is powerless against truth. 时间,它的利齿可咬碎万物,但对真理却无能为力。
  • The water gnaws at the shoreline. 海水侵蚀海岸线。
8 expeditious Ehwze     
adj.迅速的,敏捷的
参考例句:
  • They are almost as expeditious and effectual as Aladdin's lamp.他们几乎像如意神灯那么迅速有效。
  • It is more convenien,expeditious and economical than telephone or telegram.它比电话或电报更方便、迅速和经济。
9 diabetes uPnzu     
n.糖尿病
参考例句:
  • In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者,医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
  • Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。
10 chronic BO9zl     
adj.(疾病)长期未愈的,慢性的;极坏的
参考例句:
  • Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
  • Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。
TAG标签: Indian gas Bhopal
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