SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Air Pollution Harms Young Lungs / A Le

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Air Pollution Harms Young Lungs / A Legal Settlement Over Teflon
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Broadcast: Tuesday, October 05, 2004

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VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I'm Sarah Long.

VOICE TWO:

 
Graphic¹ Image
And I'm Doug Johnson. This week: an award-winning supercomputer, and a new study of air pollution and children's lungs.

VOICE ONE:

But first, a report on the dispute over a chemical used to make Teflon.

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VOICE ONE:

Teflon is a kind of plastic. It is extremely smooth. It can be found on many products, from industrial machines to weather-resistant clothing. One of the most common uses for Teflon is to protect cooking surfaces like pans. It keeps food from sticking.

A researcher at the American chemical company DuPont invented Teflon, by accident, in nineteen thirty-eight. Atoms of carbon and fluorine combined to form a very strong molecule². The result is a substance that does not react with other materials chemically or electrically. In fact, most materials just slide off Teflon.

VOICE TWO:

But DuPont faces questions about the safety of a chemical used to make Teflon. It is known as P.F.O.A or C-eight. The full name is perfluorooctanoic acid. This chemical is used like a soap. P.F.O.A. has been found in drinking water supplies in communities near a Teflon factory in West Virginia.

In early September, DuPont agreed to settle a legal case brought by people in the area around Parkersburg, West Virginia. As many as sixty thousand people are represented in the class action lawsuit³.

In a statement, DuPont said that settling this lawsuit does not suggest "any admission of liability⁴" on the part of the company. It said the action helps both parties "by taking reasonable steps based on science and, at the same time, contributing to the community."

The case had been set to go to a trial in October.

VOICE ONE:

In the proposed settlement, DuPont agreed to eighty-five million dollars in payments and other spending. It also agreed to pay legal costs of almost twenty-three million dollars. And it agreed to provide water treatment operations in affected⁵ communities in West Virginia and Ohio.

The settlement plan also calls for independent experts to study the effects of the chemical. If the experts find that P.F.O.A. harms people, DuPont could have to pay up to two hundred thirty-five million dollars. This would go to medical studies and health care for victims. A concern expressed about P.F.O.A. is the possibility that it may cause birth disorders⁶. The company disputes this.

VOICE TWO:

DuPont agreed to the settlement even though P.F.O.A. is not listed as a substance that the government considers dangerous. The company says it obeyed all laws about reporting possible risks from chemicals.

But the United States Environmental Protection Agency disagrees. In July the E.P.A. brought an administrative⁷ action against DuPont. The agency says that in nineteen eighty-one DuPont observed P.F.O.A. in blood taken from pregnant⁸ workers at its factory in West Virginia. In at least one case, the chemical was in the fetus⁹ as well. The E.P.A. says DuPont also found the chemical in public water supplies as early as the mid-nineteen eighties.

VOICE ONE:

The agency says DuPont violated¹⁰ two government rules. These require companies to report any serious risks to human health or the environment from a chemical. The agency could fine DuPont at least twenty-five thousand dollars for each day that it failed to report the information. The accusations¹¹ cover a period of twenty years. So the fines could reach hundreds of millions of dollars.

DuPont says it fully¹² reported all the information that it was supposed to report. The company says it "remains¹³ confident that P.F.O.A. is safe." It says fifty years of experience and studies support this position.

VOICE TWO:

Teflon and similar non-stick materials are called fluoropolymers. The Environmental Protection Agency noted¹⁴ last year that P.F.O.A. is used to make such materials. But it said, "the finished products themselves are not expected to contain P.F.O.A."

A study by a competitor of DuPont, Three-M, has shown that the chemical is found in the blood of ninety percent of Americans. How is this happening? The E.P.A. says direct releases from industry may not be the only way, since a limited number of places produce P.F.O.A. It says the answer is not known.

The agency has not decided¹⁵ if there is an unreasonable¹⁶ risk to the public from this chemical. But it says it does not believe there is any reason for people to stop using any products.

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VOICE ONE:

A study suggests that dirty air can reduce lung development. Researchers at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles published their work in the New England Journal of Medicine.

About one thousand seven hundred children from different communities in Southern California took part in the study. The scientists tested the children every year for eight years, starting at age ten. They say this is the longest study ever done on air pollution and the health of children.

The scientists found that children who lived in areas with the dirtiest air were five times more likely to grow up with weak lungs. Many were using less than eighty percent of normal lung strength to breathe.

VOICE TWO:

The damage from dirty air was as bad as that found in children with parents who smoke. Children with reduced lung power may suffer more severe effects from a common cold, for example.

But the researchers express greater concerns about long-term effects. They say adults normally begin to lose one percent of their lung power each year after age twenty. The doctors note that weak lung activity is the second leading cause of early deaths among adults. The first is smoking.

By the time people are eighteen, their lungs are fully developed, or close to it. The doctors say it is impossible to recover from any damage.

Researchers say they are still not sure how air pollution affects lung development. They believe that pollution affects the tiny air spaces where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged.

VOICE ONE:

Arden Pope¹⁷ is an economics¹⁸ professor at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Professor Pope wrote a commentary¹⁹ about the study. He noted that air quality in Southern California has improved since the study began in the early nineteen-nineties. Clean-air laws have reduced pollution from vehicles, industry and other causes.

But dirty air is still a problem in areas of California and other places. Professor Pope says continued efforts to improve air quality are likely to provide additional improvements in health.

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VOICE TWO:

People who travel in Virginia, in the eastern United States, often visit places that are famous from American history. But now people can visit a place where university scientists are at work on the future.

Virginia Tech in Blacksburg is offering tours for the public to see its supercomputer. The machine was built last year from more than one thousand personal computers. It is one of the most powerful computers in the world.

This past June, leaders from the computer industry honored Virginia Tech for best use of information technology in the world of science. The supercomputer project was chosen from more than two hundred fifty entries by businesses, companies and other universities in twenty-six countries. The award was presented at the two thousand-four Computerworld Honors Program in Washington, D.C.

Next week, learn how a group of people built the computer in three months with parts that anyone can buy. And we'll tell you about some of the scientific goals for this powerful machine called System X.

You can also learn more about the supercomputer, and sign up for a tour if you are ever in Blacksburg, at the Virginia Tech Web site. The address is vt.edu.

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VOICE ONE:

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Brian Kim, Mario Ritter and Paul Thompson. Cynthia Kirk was our producer. If you would like to find any of our programs online, go to www.tingroom.com. And if you would like to e-mail us a question or comments, write to [email protected]. This is Doug Johnson.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Sarah Long. Join was again next week for more news about science, in Special English on the Voice of America.

1 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

2 molecule   

n.分子，克分子

参考例句：

• A molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hygrogen and one atom of oxygen.一个水分子是由P妈̬f婘̬ 妈̬成的。
• This gives us the structural formula of the molecule.这种方式给出了分子的结构式。

3 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

4 liability   

n.责任[pl.]负债，债务，不利条件

参考例句：

• Bad pronunciation is a liability in being a narrator.不良的发音是做解说员的不利条件。
• Because of his injury ,Tom was just a liability to the team.汤姆的伤使他成为全队的累赘。

5 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。

6 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

8 pregnant   

adj.怀孕的，怀胎的

参考例句：

• She is a pregnant woman.她是一名孕妇。
• She is pregnant with her first child.她怀了第一胎。

9 fetus   

n.胎，胎儿

参考例句：

• In the fetus,blood cells are formed in different sites at different ages.胎儿的血细胞在不同时期生成在不同的部位。
• No one knows why a fetus is not automatically rejected by the mother's immune system. 没有人知道为什么母亲的免疫系统不会自动排斥胎儿。

10 violated   

亵渎( violate的过去式和过去分词 )； 违反； 侵犯； 强奸

参考例句：

• Note that thick, strong angles of tibia are not violated. 注意肥厚、结实的胫骨成角部分未受损坏。
• The soldiers violated the church by using it as a stable. 士兵们把教堂当马厩，亵渎了教堂。

11 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

12 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

13 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。

14 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

15 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

16 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

17 pope   

n.（罗马天主教的）教皇

参考例句：

• The Pope is the spiritual leader of many Christians.教皇是众多基督徒的宗教领袖。
• The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。

18 economics   

n.经济学，经济情况

参考例句：

• He is studying economics,which subject is very important.他正在学习经济学，该学科是很重要的。
• One can't separate politics from economics.不能把政治与经济割裂开来。

19 commentary   

n.评论，评注；实况广播报导，现场口头评述

参考例句：

• He is giving the commentary on the basketball game.他正在对篮球赛作评论。
• His running commentary on the football match was excellent.他对这次足球赛所作的实况报道十分精彩。