|
|
Water contaminants? bottled water no help
What the recent story about traces of pharmaceuticals in our drinking water makes very clear is that access to safe drinking water is an issue that affects everyone.
最近有关饮用水中含有某些药物的事件已经给公众提了个醒——喝到安全的饮水是一项影响到每个人的事情。
All our water sources - rivers and reservoirs, springs and aquifers - may contain drugs flushed down our toilets and off factory farms somewhere up stream. But scaring people away from their taps into the bottled water isle at the grocery store will cost them thousands of dollars a year without making them any safer.
我们所有的水源——河流、水库、泉水和地下蓄水层——都可能含有从我们的厕所或者被关闭的工业化农场某处上游冲下来的有害物质。然而这些信息吓唬得人们远离了自家的水龙头并到杂货店购买瓶装水，结果只会是使得人们每年多耗资数千美元，却并不能更安全。
\"Nearly 40 percent of bottled water is simply repackaged tap water. What's more, there's no government agency testing bottled water contamination from known hazards such as bacteria, synthetic contaminants, or heavy metals. While the Associated Press did not test bottled water, earlier testers have found dangerous substances such as arsenic and bromate, both known carcinogens. And bottled water comes with its own list of unknown hazards from chemicals leached into the water from the plastic bottles. Tap water is still the best choice for most Americans.
\"近40 ％的瓶装水只是简单地将自来水重新包装而来。并且目前没有任何政府机构会测试瓶装水是否受到那些已知的有害污染，例如细菌、人造污染物或重金属。美联社记者并没有测试瓶装水，而早前的测试已经发现水中含有一些危险物质，如砷和溴酸盐，以及某些已知的致癌物。伴随着瓶装水而来得是某些未知的危险化学品，这些危险有可能来自淋洗塑胶瓶所用的水，也有可能来自塑胶瓶。可见，自来水仍是多数美国人的最佳选择，.
\"Americans are right to be concerned by reports of prescription medications in their water. But this isn't a problem that can be fixed at each tap or each household. Contaminants in drinking water are a national problem worthy of a national solution.
\"美国人都有权获知，有报道称在生活用水中发现有某些处方药存在。这不是一个只存在于某个水龙头或某家的问题。饮用水被污染是一个国家性的问题，值得国家重视并加以解决。
Communities around the country are struggling to maintain and upgrade aging water systems that are groaning under the stain of a growing population. At the same time, the federal government contribution to total clean water spending has shrunk dramatically, from 78 percent in 1978 to just 3 percent today. States spend approximately $63 billion annually to compensate, but their efforts barely keep pace with current needs, let alone future ones. Based on Environmental Protection Agency estimates, there is a gap of nearly $22 billion per year between needed and available funds for water infrastructure.
城市及农村周围的社区都竭力维持和更新老化的供水系统，目前这一系统已不堪重负，这是人口增长而造成污染增多的结果。与此同时，美国联邦政府财政用于清洁用水支出已大幅缩水，从1978年的78 ％迅速萎缩到现今的3 ％ 。国家在上述方面每年花费大约630亿美元，但他们的努力只能勉强跟上当前的需要，更遑论未来会怎么样了。根据美国环境保护局的估计，在水利基础设施方面每年的资金缺口近220亿美元。
\"EPA must set standards for potentially dangerous substances and Congress must provide the funding to help the more than 158,000 drinking water systems around the country to deal with them. According to a recent Luntz poll, nine out of ten Americans believe that clean and safe water is a national priority that deserves federal investment.
\"环保局必须对那些有潜在危险的物质制订标准，同时国会必须提供资金，以帮助建立并维护全国各地15.8万多个饮水系统来对付这些污染。据最近一项luntz调查中显示，十个美国人中有九个相信，清洁和安全饮水是一个国家优先事项，这是值得的联邦政府投资的。
Food & Water Watch has been leading a campaign to establish a permanent funding stream for water infrastructure projects in the form of a trust fund. In Congress, Rep. James Oberstar (MN), Rep. Edie Bernice Johnson (TX), and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR) have requested a GAO study to identify sustainable funding sources and announced their intention to pursue legislation for a trust fund once this funding source is identified. America's water is a public responsibility that should be given a steady and reliable source of funding to keep water clean and safe for all communities.\"
美国食品和水消费者关注促进组织一直在领导一项运动，以信托基金的方式为水利基础设施项目建立一个常设的资金流。在国会众议员James Oberstar ，众议员 Edie Bernice Johnson ，以及众议员Earl Blumenauer 已经要求美国总审计局找出可持续的资金来源，并宣布他们打算争取立法，一旦这笔资金的来源确定后就建立一个信托基金。应该给一个稳定可靠的资金来源以保证美国公民用水的清洁和安全，这是一种公共责任 。
=========
另 科学网 :
1月30日的爱思唯尔期刊《毒理学快报》(Toxicology Letters)刊登了美国辛辛那提大学的一项最新发现。研究表明，一些由聚碳酸酯制成的运动水壶或饮水瓶中装入热水后会释放出一种扰乱内分泌的化学物质酚甲烷（BPA），这种物质会对人体健康有很大的影响。
之前研究显示，重复摩擦、刷洗与烹煮婴儿用聚碳酸酯瓶会释放酚甲烷。最新研究中，科学家发现，由聚碳酸酯（polycarbonate，PC）材质制成的水瓶，无论新旧当遇到热水都将会放出扰乱内分泌的化学物质酚甲烷（BPA）。酚甲烷又称为“内分泌干扰素”，被认为是一种环境荷尔蒙，可能干扰人体内分泌平衡。
研究同时还发现，无论瓶子的新旧，当放入冷水或是温水，其酚甲烷的释放量与速率都相同。但一旦水瓶接触了滚烫的热水，酚甲烷的释放速率会马上增加15到55倍。
研究人员强调，尽管虽然目前对于多高酚甲烷浓度才对人体有害人体尚未达成共识，但酚甲烷会影响人体的荷尔蒙系统，导致乳癌摄护腺癌、不孕和脑部损害等健康问题，所以应当引起生产商和消费者足够的重视。(科学网 于乃森/编译) |
|
发表于 2008-4-16 16:25:00