Millions of Americans still get their drinking water from lead pipes
Over a century has passed since the dangers of consuming lead became widely known. Yet residents of Chicago — and many other cities — still mostly swig from taps fed by lead pipes.
About 400, 000 lead service lines connect to the mains in the Windy City, linking about four in five of all houses there. One study of nearly 3, 000 homes, two years ago, found two-thirds had elevated levels of lead in their water.
The city's water woes can be blamed in part on the historic clout of industrial lobbyists and a union of plumbers. In the last century, they nudged Chicago's political bosses to set rules making lead pipes compulsory. That lasted until a federal ban on new lead pipes in 1986.
Mayors are more alert to the problem these days, especially since the water crisis in 2014 in Flint, Michigan. Erik Olson of the Natural Resources Defence Council says thousands of water systems across the country still face "serious problems".
Cities want to make changes, but swapping out 10m service lines could cost $50bn. Twice this summer the House of Representatives passed bills to start paying for it. Proposed infrastructure bills also include sums for removing lead pipes. But in the Senate such plans have, so far, led nowhere.
Joe Biden's administration could nudge things on. The EPA may set higher standards again. A bill co-sponsored by a Republican congressman, Chris Smith, would require all lead pipes to be replaced within a decade. His timetable may look too ambitious, but waiting for 500 more years to fix the problem isn't much of a plan, either.
Millions of Americans still get their drinking water from lead pipeslead /led/ n. 表示「鉛」。lead pipe指「鉛管」。鉛管，是用鉛製造的非鐵金屬管。鉛管具耐壓及延展性，適合在狹窄及轉彎的角落地方使用，常用於輸送水、瓦斯、酸性液體等。由於鉛管機械性能佳，曾在 1920 年代至 1970 年代被廣泛應用於城市供水系統。鉛質水管在 1986 年被禁用。專家認為，即使微量的鉛都有危險，可能導致腦部受損、智商降低和其他健康問題。Over a century has passed since the dangers of consuming lead became widely known. Yet residents of Chicago — and many other cities — still mostly swig from taps fed by lead pipes.鉛是一種對人體危害極大的有毒重金屬。鉛及其化合物進入機體後將對神經、造血、消化、腎臟、心血管和內分泌等多個系統造成危害，若含量過高則會引起鉛中毒。目前鉛主要是通過食物、飲用水、空氣等方式影響人體健康。金屬鉛進入人體後，少部分會隨著身體代謝排出體外，其餘大量則會在體內沉積。成年人攝入過量鉛元素後，神經系統和消化系統都會受損，導致人出現頭暈、乏力、眩暈、睏倦、失眠、貧血、免疫力低下等症狀。在同樣的鉛環境下，兒童相比成人更易吸收鉛元素。兒童鉛中毒則會出現發育遲緩、食欲不振和失眠等症狀；或還伴有多動、聽覺障礙、注意不集中和智力低下等現象。嚴重者出現腦組織損傷，甚至終身殘廢。consume /kənˈsuːm/ v. 表示「攝入」。比如◇We consume a great deal of sugar in soft drinks. 喝飲料會攝入大量糖分。◇to feed paper into the printer給印表機放紙張◇to feed coins into the machine給機器投幣Over a century has passed since the dangers of consuming lead became widely known. Yet residents of Chicago — and many other cities — still mostly swig from taps fed by lead pipes.早在一個多世紀之前，鉛攝入的危害就已廣為人知。然而，在芝加哥市以及其他許多城市，居民們大多還在飲用鉛管輸送的自來水。About 400,000 lead service lines connect to the mains in the Windy City, linking about four in five of all houses there. One study of nearly 3,000 homes, two years ago, found two-thirds had elevated levels of lead in their water.main /meɪn/ n. 表示「管道；管網系統（複數）」。芝加哥市是美國第三大城市，氣候夏日酷熱，冬季不寒，終年多風，故號為「風城」。在英語中，「Windy City」除了風城之意外，還有「吹牛之城」的含義。在十九世紀七十年代，同為美國中西部城市的辛辛那提市（Cincinnati）時常與芝加哥叫板，互相嘲諷。「風城」便是辛辛那提市的報紙編輯用來稱呼芝加哥的外號，意在嘲諷芝加哥人愛吹牛。1892 年，芝加哥和紐約爭辦世博會，《紐約太陽報》的主編也在文章中將芝加哥嘲諷為「風城」。elevated /ˈel.ə.veɪ.tɪd/ adj. 表示「高於正常值的，過高的」（higher than normal）elevate表示「抬高，升高」。比如◇Smoking often elevates blood pressure. 吸菸導致血壓升高。About 400,000 lead service lines connect to the mains in the Windy City, linking about four in five of all houses there. One study of nearly 3,000 homes, two years ago, found two-thirds had elevated levels of lead in their water.在「風城」（芝加哥市），約有 40 萬條鉛制供水管道聯通著城市供水系統，覆蓋了市內五分之四的住戶。兩年前，一項針對近 3000 戶家庭的研究發現，共有三分之二的住戶家中自來水鉛含量過高。The city's water woes can be blamed in part on the historic clout of industrial lobbyists and a union of plumbers. In the last century, they nudged Chicago's political bosses to set rules making lead pipes compulsory. That lasted until a federal ban on new lead pipes in 1986.woe /woʊ/ n. 表示「麻煩，問題（複數）；痛苦」（troubles or problems; great sadness）比如◇Woe is me! 我太難了！/ 我的命好苦！clout /klaʊt/ n. 表示「勢力，影響力；重擊」（influence or power）比如◇a clout round the ear一記耳光◇Pantone has clout in the fashion world. 潘通在時尚界有很大的影響力。lobbyist /ˈlɑː.bi.ɪst/ n. 表示「說客」。lobby表示「遊說」。比如◇Gun control advocates are lobbying hard for new laws. 槍枝管控的支持者正在努力遊說政府制定新規。plumber /ˈplʌm.ɚ/ n. 表示「水管工，管道工」。nudge /nʌdʒ/ v. 表示「勸說；推動」。比如◇to nudge sb. into changing his mind勸某人改變主意◇to nudge interest rates up上調利率compulsory /kəmˈpʌl.sɚ.i/ adj. 表示「強制的，必須的」。比如◇compulsory education義務教育反義詞optional表示「可選的」。比如◇optional courses選修課◇to impose a ban on sth. 針對...頒布禁令◇to lift a ban on sth. 針對...解除禁令The city's water woes can be blamed in part on the historic clout of industrial lobbyists and a union of plumbers. In the last century, they nudged Chicago's political bosses to set rules making lead pipes compulsory. That lasted until a federal ban on new lead pipes in 1986.芝加哥市的自來水問題可以部分歸咎於產業遊說者和水管工人聯盟的歷史影響力。在上世紀，他們曾勸說芝加哥市的政治領導人制定法規，強制城市使用鉛質水管。直到 1986 年美國聯邦政府禁止各地新安裝鉛制管道，芝加哥市才不再強制使用鉛管。Mayors are more alert to the problem these days, especially since the water crisis in 2014 in Flint, Michigan. Erik Olson of the Natural Resources Defence Council says thousands of water systems across the country still face "serious problems".alert /əˈlɝːt/ adj. 表示「警惕的」。慣用搭配to be alert to sth. 表示「對...保持警惕」。the water crisis in 2014指「弗林特市自來水鉛汙染事故」。2014 年，為節省政府公共開支，弗林特市政府決定放棄一直使用的底特律供水系統，改從當地的弗林特河取水。但由於弗林特河的河水沒有經過充分處理，當地輸水鉛管遭腐蝕，最終導致當地 10 萬居民飲用的自來水含鉛量嚴重超標。約有 8000 名兒童因此受到鉛汙染影響（自來水鉛汙染對兒童影響最大，鉛毒會導致神經系統受損，影響兒童智力發育）。在此次「鉛水」事件中，有 5 名官員被控過失殺人。thousands of water systems據路透社 2016 年 12 月發布的報導，在美國近 3000 個地區的自來水系統中，飲用水的鉛汙染程度達到了弗林特市自來水鉛汙染程度的兩倍。同年，法新社引述《今日美國》的報導稱，美國有約 2000 個自來水系統受到鉛汙染，水中的含鉛量均超出聯邦條例許可的含量。這些受汙染的自來水供應給了數以千計的學校和託兒所。Mayors are more alert to the problem these days, especially since the water crisis in 2014 in Flint, Michigan. Erik Olson of the Natural Resources Defence Council says thousands of water systems across the country still face "serious problems".如今，尤其是自 2014 年密西根州弗林特市發生自來水危機之後，各地市長們對自來水鉛汙染的問題已愈發警惕。來自美國自然資源保護委員會的埃裡克·奧爾森表示，全美上千個供水系統仍然面臨著「嚴重問題」。Cities want to make changes, but swapping out 10m service lines could cost $50bn. Twice this summer the House of Representatives passed bills to start paying for it. Proposed infrastructure bills also include sums for removing lead pipes. But in the Senate such plans have, so far, led nowhere.◇to swap seats with sb.交換位子◇to swap points for vouchers積分兌換優惠券◇to swap out batteries更換電池the House of Representatives指「美國眾議院」。lead nowhere表示「一無所成，毫無進展」（to make no progress）相當於go / get / head nowhere比如◇Arguing will get us nowhere. 吵架對解決問題沒有幫助。Cities want to make changes, but swapping out 10m service lines could cost $50bn. Twice this summer the House of Representatives passed bills to start paying for it. Proposed infrastructure bills also include sums for removing lead pipes. But in the Senate such plans have, so far, led nowhere.各地城市希望作出改變，但更換 1000 萬條供水管道就能花掉 500 億美元。今年夏天，美國眾議院兩次通過相關法案，開始為水管更換工程撥款。擬議中的基礎設施法案也將鉛管拆除費用納入了預算。但目前，此類計劃在參議院還毫無進展。Joe Biden's administration could nudge things on. The EPA may set higher standards again. A bill co-sponsored by a Republican congressman, Chris Smith, would require all lead pipes to be replaced within a decade. His timetable may look too ambitious, but waiting for 500 more years to fix the problem isn't much of a plan, either.美國國家環境保護局（Environmental Protection Agency），簡稱美國環保局，是美國聯邦政府一個獨立行政機構，由美國總統尼克森提議設立，獲國會批准後於 1970 年 12 月 2 日成立運行。環保局局長由美國總統直接提名，直接向總統負責。美國國會共和黨議員克裡斯·史密斯（Chris Smith）和民主黨議員亨利·奎利亞爾（Henry Cuellar）聯合推出了一項法案，將在兩年內推進兩黨合作的計劃，為美國的飲用水系統提供 140 億美元的資金，用於升級社區供水系統，替換供水鉛管線路。co-sponsor 可做動詞，特指國會議員聯合發起一項法案，另外它也可作名詞，表示某項法案的「聯合發起人」。目前，美國城市更換鉛管的速度很不理想。以芝加哥市為例，市政部門更換鉛管的速度是每年八百條，這意味著市民需要等待 500 年才能喝上沒有鉛汙染風險的自來水。not (be) much of a sth. 表示「不足以被視作某物」。比如◇He's not much of a cook. 他離廚子還差得遠呢。◇We haven't had much of a summer this year. 今年沒有好好過個夏天。Joe Biden's administration could nudge things on. The EPA may set higher standards again. A bill co-sponsored by a Republican congressman, Chris Smith, would require all lead pipes to be replaced within a decade. His timetable may look too ambitious, but waiting for 500 more years to fix the problem isn't much of a plan, either.拜登政府可能會推動這一進程。美國環保局也許會再次制定更高的安全標準。一項由共和黨國會議員克裡斯·史密斯聯合發起的法案要求全美境內的所有鉛管在十年內更換完畢。他提出的時間進度要求或許看似過於艱巨，但再耗上五百年來處理這一問題也並非良策。— Contact Us —
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