Japan nuclear fears spread to China

 Japan nuclear fears spread to China

BEIJING, China – By mid-afternoon Thursday, Fang¹ Zhiming had already rummaged² through three supermarkets in the Chinese capital searching for salt. She found none, but was on her way to a fourth shop, where her friend assured her salt remained.

"We already have a large bag at home for cooking, but I want to get as much as possible just in case it runs out,” said Fang, a 34-year-old office worker who went salt shopping on her lunch break.

Fang was one in a sea of Chinese citizens scouring³ the country’s stores for salt, in the wake of the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami⁴ in Japan. Fears of a nuclear meltdown and radiation contamination continue, and China’s population proved it was not immune to potentially irrational⁵ panic. Salt in China typically contains small amounts of iodine⁶, added to prevent thyroid and related health problems, particularly in children.

Some shoppers apparently⁷ were after the iodine, mistakenly seeking protection against potential radioactive fallout from Japan. Even though scientists say prevailing⁸ wind patterns should carry contamination from failed nuclear plants out to sea, away from China, people don’t want to be caught unprepared. Yet the small amount of iodine in table salt is nowhere near what’s recommended for exposure to radiation, making it virtually impossible to use iodized salt as a prophylactic⁹. It would take more than two pounds of salt to equal the iodine in one tablet.

Even the popular e-commerce platform Taobao was short of salt. In a posting, the company said it was working to manage salt supplies but couldn’t keep up, echoing stores across the country.

    “I want to get as much as possible just in case it runs out.”

~Fang, a 34-year-old office worker

But not all salt-buyers were looking for radiation protection. Instead, there seemed to be a more prevalent fear that cooking supplies would run out amid hoarding¹¹. As a result, soy sauce was also in short supply, several shops reported.

The manager of a supermarket in Nanjing, who didn’t want to give his full name, said by telephone that he believed the salt splurge was driven by greedy forces, rather than real panic.

“Don’t worry about this; salt is a common product,” he said. “The current situation is manipulated by a few people and there will be salt soon.”

Reason seemed absent, however, as prices rose and salt sailed off the shelves. Many stores ran out, while others raised prices and rationed¹² supplies. In an initial attempt to calm the salt rush, the Xinhua news agency weighed in with a one-line statement from the government Thursday afternoon, saying: “[The] China National Salt Industry Corp. (CNSIC) on Thursday said China has rich salt reserves to meet people's demand and consumers need not panic to hoard¹⁰ salt.”

Meanwhile, China’s state-run radio was reporting that salt was not a protective measure against radiation.

On Wednesday, the Ministry¹³ of Environment published radiation readings in 41 cities across China, showing that all were within allowed limits. But given past coverups and limited information in state-controlled media, Chinese people don’t always trust the official line in a crisis.

A day earlier, the government’s main ruling cabinet, the State Council, announced that it would suspend approvals and construction of new nuclear power facilities to conduct a safety review.

That changed the official line from over the weekend, when a senior official said China would not changed or delay its current plans to build more than two dozen new nuclear plants in the coming years, as part of a drive to reduce carbon emissions¹⁴ from coal burning. The country now has six operating nuclear plants, but has plans to scale that up dramatically.

“Safety is our top priority in developing nuclear power plants,” the State Council said in brief notice on its website.

Less than six months ago, the head of China’s nuclear energy program was sentenced to life in prison for taking bribes¹⁵ and abusing his authority. Rampant¹⁶ graft¹⁷ in the building industry, leading to use of subpar materials, has been cited as one cause of the high death toll¹⁸ in the Sichuan province earthquake of 2008, when nearly 90,000 people were killed.

1 fang   

n.尖牙，犬牙

参考例句：

• Look how the bone sticks out of the flesh like a dog's fang.瞧瞧,这根骨头从肉里露出来，象一只犬牙似的。
• The green fairy's fang thrusting between his lips.绿妖精的尖牙从他的嘴唇里龇出来。

2 rummaged   

翻找，搜寻( rummage的过去式和过去分词 )； 已经海关检查

参考例句：

• I rummaged through all the boxes but still could not find it. 几个箱子都翻腾遍了也没有找到。
• The customs officers rummaged the ship suspected to have contraband goods. 海关人员仔细搜查了一艘有走私嫌疑的海轮。

3 scouring   

擦[洗]净，冲刷，洗涤

参考例句：

• The police are scouring the countryside for the escaped prisoners. 警察正在搜索整个乡村以捉拿逃犯。
• This is called the scouring train in wool processing. 这被称为羊毛加工中的洗涤系列。

4 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

5 irrational   

adj.无理性的，失去理性的

参考例句：

• After taking the drug she became completely irrational.她在吸毒后变得完全失去了理性。
• There are also signs of irrational exuberance among some investors.在某些投资者中是存在非理性繁荣的征象的。

6 iodine   

n.碘，碘酒

参考例句：

• The doctor painted iodine on the cut.医生在伤口上涂点碘酒。
• Iodine tends to localize in the thyroid.碘容易集于甲状腺。

7 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。

8 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

9 prophylactic   

adj.预防疾病的；n.预防疾病

参考例句：

• Vaccination and other prophylactic measures can be carried out.可以采取疫苗接种和其他预防措施。
• The region began to use quinine successfully as a prophylactic.该地区开始成功地用奎宁作为预防剂。

10 hoard   

n./v.窖藏，贮存，囤积

参考例句：

• They have a hoard of food in the basement.地下室里有他们贮藏的食物。
• How many curios do you hoard in your study?你在你书房里聚藏了多少古玩？

11 hoarding   

n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• After the war, they were shot for hoarding. 战后他们因囤积而被枪决。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Actually he had two unused ones which he was hoarding up. 其实他还藏了两片没有用呢。 来自英汉文学

12 rationed   

限量供应，配给供应( ration的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• We were rationed to two eggs a day. 每天配给我们两个鸡蛋。
• The army is well rationed. 部队给养良好。

13 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

14 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

15 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

16 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

17 graft   

n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接

参考例句：

• I am having a skin graft on my arm soon.我马上就要接受手臂的皮肤移植手术。
• The minister became rich through graft.这位部长透过贪污受贿致富。

18 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。