ENVIRONMENT REPORT - Nuclear Pollution and Cancer

ENVIRONMENT REPORT
—
March 15, 2002: Nuclear Pollution and Cancer

By Mario Ritter

This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.

A recent report by the USA Today newspaper says that a large amount of nuclear pollution has caused thousands
of deaths in the United States. The radioactive¹ material was spread by tests of nuclear weapons carried out during
the Nineteen-Fifties and early Nineteen-Sixties.

The news report is based on a study done by the United States Centers for Disease² Control and
Prevention and the National Cancer Institute. However, the Department of Health and Human
Services has not released³ the study to the public. The study says that a larger area than
expected received high levels of nuclear pollution.

The study used computer models to find out where nuclear pollution may have fallen. The

study says all people living in the United States since Nineteen-Fifty-One have received some
level of radiation. It says people in the most affected⁴ areas received radiation equal to one medical x-ray every
year.

Beginning in the Nineteen-Fifties, the American military carried out more than two-hundred tests of nuclear
weapons. About half of those tests were done in the state of Nevada. During the same period, the former Soviet⁵
Union carried out a similar number of tests on its own territory. Britain and the United States carried out other
nuclear tests on islands in the Pacific Ocean. The study says that these tests also spread radioactive material in
America. The United States halted⁶ above-ground nuclear tests in Nineteen-Sixty-Three.

The study also estimates⁷ that at least eleven-thousand Americans may have died of cancer as a result of nuclear
pollution. It says thousands of other people developed non-deadly forms of cancer.

Yet, some medical experts say that it is very difficult to point to a single cause for many kinds of cancer. They
also say the number of deaths caused by radiation is small when compared to the number of people who have
died from other causes, such as smoking.

However, experts say nuclear pollution is an environmental problem that can last a long time because of the
nature of radiation. Some radioactive material remains⁸ dangerous for only a few years. But other material is
dangerous for much longer periods.

This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written by Mario Ritter.

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1 radioactive   

adj.放射性的

参考例句：

• People should keep away from the radioactive waste.人们应远离放射性废物。
• The radioactive material is stored in a special radiation-proof container.放射性材料储存在防辐射的特殊容器里。

2 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

3 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

6 halted   

v.（使）停下来( halt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The terrorists have halted their bloody campaign of violence. 恐怖分子已经停止了他们凶残的暴力活动。
• She walked towards him and then halted. 她向他走去，然后停下。

7 estimates   

估计

参考例句：

• Unofficial estimates put the figure at over two million. 非官方的估计数字为200万以上。
• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。