新闻周刊:水中含毒素敲响美国水安全的警钟(1)（在线收听）

From the US

文章来源于《美国》板块

Deadly Toxins in Water Supply a 'Wake-Up Call' for Local U.S. Authorities

供水系统中致命的毒素给美国地方当局敲响了警钟

BY EMMA PENROD

作者：艾玛·彭罗德

The swimmers and kayakers of Oregon are no strangers to algae. In recent years, warnings of infestations in ponds and lakes have become routine. When an early-summer algal bloom developed on Detroit Lake near Salem this May, state and city officials knew exactly what tests to run and advisories to issue.

俄勒冈州的游泳者和皮划艇运动员对海藻并不陌生。近年来，池塘和湖泊的虫害警告已成为家常便饭。今年5月，塞勒姆附近的底特律湖出现了初夏的藻华，当时州政府和市政府官员清楚地知道应该进行哪些测试，发布哪些建议。

But city leaders hadn’t anticipated a threat to drinking water. Detroit Lake drains into the North Santiam River, and from there, water runs into the municipal system. On May 31, a few days after the algae was first detected in the system, Salem toxicologists found potentially deadly toxins in the water supply. That same day, the city warned its nearly 200,000 residents that tap water was off--limits for children under the age of 6, people with existing liver or kidney conditions, pregnant and nursing women, the elderly and pets. The advisory remained in place for more than a month.

但是城市领导没有预料到饮用水会受到威胁。底特律的湖泊向北桑提亚姆河排水，水从那里流入市政系统。5月31日，在该系统首次检测到海藻几天后，塞勒姆的毒理学家在供水系统中发现了可能致命的毒素。就在同一天，该市警告近20万居民，自来水已经关闭——-6岁以下儿童、有肝肾疾病的人、孕妇、哺乳期妇女、老年人、宠物限制饮用。这一通知持续了一个多月。

It was the first time Oregon had detected algal toxins in treated water. “This was a real wake-up call for us, that, yeah, it can get into drinking water systems,” says Jonathan Modie, a communications officer for the Oregon Health Authority.

这是俄勒冈州首次在处理过的水中检测到藻类毒素。“这给我们敲响了警钟，是的，它可以进入饮用水系统，” 俄勒冈州卫生局的通讯官员乔纳森·莫迪亚说。

Because of the lack of data, experts don’t know for certain whether toxic algae outbreaks are increasing in frequency or simply being reported more often. But warmer temperatures do encourage the growth of algae and algal blooms, and that can come with a potentially deadly threat.

由于缺乏数据，专家们无法确定有毒藻类爆发的频率是在增加，还是只是报道更频繁。但温暖的气候确实会促进藻类的生长和藻类的大量繁殖，这可能会带来潜在的致命威胁。

Most algae are harmless, but certain species of the blue-green variety, also called cyanobacteria, produce toxins strong enough to poison large mammals, including humans, with potentially fatal consequences. In 2001, the EPA and the Water Research Foundation surveyed 45 drinking water sources in the U.S. and Canada. Four in five, they found, were contaminated with microcystin, which attacks the liver and kidneys. Although most people make full recoveries, life can become pretty unpleasant, and the symptoms—fever, nausea and diarrhea—can be confused with food poisoning.

大多数藻类无害，但某些蓝绿色的种类，也被称为蓝藻细菌，其产生的毒素足以毒死包括人类在内的大型哺乳动物，并可能造成致命后果。2001年，美国环保署和水研究基金会对美国和加拿大的45个饮用水源进行了调查。他们发现，五分之四的人被微囊藻毒素感染，而微囊藻毒素会攻击肝脏和肾脏。虽然大多数人能完全康复，但生活可能变得相当不愉快，症状有发烧、恶心和腹泻——可能与食物中毒混淆。