如果福岛的冰崖解冻会怎样?看看日本实验的风险

 　　JEFFREY BROWN: And we check in again with two people who've helped us keep up with the continuing crisis.

　　Arjun Makhijani is an engineer special -- engineer specializing in nuclear fusion¹.

　　He's the president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research. Kenji Kushida specializes in Japanese studies at Stanford University.

　　Welcome back to both of you.Arjun, first, let me start with you. How serious are these new revelations about the water contamination?

　　ARJUN MAKHIJANI, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research: Well, the last time we spoke², there were -- we talked about the leak and the radiation levels that could give a worker an annual radiation dose in 12 minutes.

　　Well, more recently, there have been reports that the radiation levels near another tank are 1,800 millisieverts per hour.

　　This is an extremely high level of radiation. A few hours basically constitutes a lethal³ dose.

　　So now we're talking about radioactive contamination in these tanks, the liquid stored in these tanks, that are very highly radioactive.

　　And so these leaks are extremely problematic for the workers and for management.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: And is this something they just discovered, or what suddenly causes that much more serious amount of levels?

　　ARJUN MAKHIJANI: Well, the best I can understand from all the confusing information that is out there is the first measurement was done with an instrument that only went up to a hundred millisieverts and maxed out.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Yes.

　　ARJUN MAKHIJANI: So, now they're making more measurements and they're finding there are more contaminated spots and apparently⁴ more leaks.

　　So I'm not quite clear what the company knows when.

　　But the information is kind of dribbling⁵ out.

　　And the government is clearly concerned that the situation is getting more out of control.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Well, Kenji Kushida, you pick up on that, because there's the company and then there's the government.

　　Clearly, the government is stepping in with much more force now, right?

　　KENJI KUSHIDA, Stanford University: Yes, absolutely, because the next election in three years is going to definitely reflect their response on this nuclear issue, because they're essentially⁶ a pro-nuclear party that just won a landslide⁷ election.

　　And so if they can't credibly⁸ manage the operator's rescue efforts --and the operator which clearly seems to be unable to deal with the worst parts of the situation -- then the government is on the hook.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: But, from the outside, it looks like this is taking a long time to get to even the kind of understanding of the contamination levels that -- never mind getting to a lot of the more serious work that still needs to be done.

　　What is the sense in Japan as far as you can tell about the levels of, I don't know, desperation or urgency there?

　　KENJI KUSHIDA: Yes.Well, similar to what we said last time, the operator's reputation and people's confidence in it, which was already at an all-time low, is now even lower.

　　And after the government essentially de facto nationalized the operator about a year ago and replaced top management, people hoped that the ability of the operator to deal with some of these problems would have been enhanced.

　　But some of the media reports coming from Japan are saying things like subcontractors are leaking information that --literally leaking information that the tanks, thousand or tanks that they put together, in great haste, under severe cost pressure from TEPCO, which was -- before it was nationalized right after the disaster -- they were put together with bolts, but not welded together.

　　And so some of these subcontractors are saying, well, in the long run, even medium run, you would expect them to start springing leaks.

　　So, clearly, the operator hasn't been on top of the situation and people are getting fairly nervous about that.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: So, Arjun Makhijani, explain this idea of the ice wall. It sounds strange. How exactly would it work, and how much has it been tried before?

　　ARJUN MAKHIJANI: Well, I don't know that an ice wall like this has been tried before.

　　It's like building a dam underground, but with ice, by freezing all the poor water in the soil, all soil has -- so there's water coming in from uphill, through the side and going into the ocean, all underground.

　　It's an aquifer⁹. Some of that water contacts the molten fuel and is becoming contaminated.

　　And they hope to build -- to freeze the soil, basically, with a giant freezing machine, just like your freezer at home, put cooling coils in the soil, lots and lots of them.

　　It takes an enormous amount of electricity and they would freeze it. Of course, it contains the water behind it like a dam, but eventually it's going to overtop the dam, as it did before.

　　They had another wall that they built. They chemically impregnated the soil to kind of solidify¹⁰ it.

　　And that is what is overflowing¹¹ into the sea 300 tons a day. So...

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Well, so it has been done before, but not on this scale, you think? So is it an -- how would you describe it? Is it an experiment?

　　Is it a kind of stab at something?

　　ARJUN MAKHIJANI: It is an experiment.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Yes.

　　ARJUN MAKHIJANI: And I think it's a risky¹² experiment, because if the power fails, you know, just like if your -- when the power goes out with your refrigerator, everything will de-freeze in -- defrost in the freezer.

　　So, if this ice melts suddenly and it's blocking an enormous amount of contaminated water behind it, then you have got a problem.

　　At the same time, you know, the tanks are themselves something of a threat, if there's another earthquake and this highly contaminated water gets into the ocean.

　　And so they have a got a very -- couple of very, very serious problems of containing the water.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: And then, Kenji Kushida, there is still, as we said, the long term here, which I heard talk about decades to decommission the plant, for example.

　　KENJI KUSHIDA: Yes.Some of the estimates are a minimum of 40 years to decommission the plant.

　　So this idea of frozen underground walls, a massive spending into innovative¹³ infrastructure¹⁴ projects can be a good thing.

　　But when it's the last line of defense¹⁵ designed as a permanent solution to an almost seemingly intractable problem, I think the general public would be more comforted if they saw several options out there, rather than all the eggs being put into this potentially risky, unknown, and untested solution that may or may not work.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: You were talking about the politics earlier. Is there any uncertainty¹⁶ as to the will to stay with this for the decades that you're talking about?

　　KENJI KUSHIDA: Well, there's no choice.

　　Given that the party is pro-nuclear and that they do not face elections for three years, their interest is definitely to do whatever possible, because if this gets truly out of hand in a greater sense than now, then they will be --and their heads will be on the chopping block in the next election, but they would like to avoid that.

　　That being said, it's not like there's a set of technical solutions that are easily possible here that can be chosen from.

　　So, in the very long term, they do need to try to stay in power, so you would expect them to put as many resources as possible.

　　And, as we do see, they are moving, but they need to much more quickly, as most general public would agree.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: All right, Kenji Kushida, Arjun Makhijani, thank you both again very much.

　　ARJUN MAKHIJANI: Thank you very much.

　　KENJI KUSHIDA: Thank you.

1 fusion   

n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

4 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

5 dribbling   

n.（燃料或油从系统内）漏泄v.流口水( dribble的现在分词 )；（使液体）滴下或作细流；运球，带球

参考例句：

• Basic skills include swimming, dribbling, passing, marking, tackling, throwing, catching and shooting. 个人基本技术包括游泳、带球、传球、盯人、抢截、抛球、接球和射门。 来自互联网
• Carol: [Laurie starts dribbling again] Now do that for ten minutes. 卡罗：（萝莉开始再度运球）现在那样做十分钟。 来自互联网

6 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

7 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

8 credibly   

ad.可信地；可靠地

参考例句：

• I am credibly informed that. 由可靠方面听说。
• An effective management software ensures network to run credibly. 一个高效的网管软件是网络运行的可靠保证。

9 aquifer   

n.含水土层

参考例句：

• An aquifer is a water-bearing rock stratum such as sandstone and chalk.地下蓄水层是一些有水的岩石层，如沙岩和白垩岩。
• The wine region's first water came from an ancient aquifer.用来灌溉这个地区葡萄园的第一批水来自古老的地下蓄水层。

10 solidify   

v.(使)凝固，(使)固化，(使)团结

参考例句：

• Opinion on this question began to solidify.对这个问题的意见开始具体化了。
• Water will solidify into ice if you freeze it.水冷冻会结冰。

11 overflowing   

n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The stands were overflowing with farm and sideline products. 集市上农副产品非常丰富。
• The milk is overflowing. 牛奶溢出来了。

12 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

13 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

14 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

15 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

16 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。