VOA标准英语2011--Fukushima Plant Operator: Nitrogen Pumpi

Fukushima Plant Operator: Nitrogen Pumping Operation Going Well

A plan to inject nitrogen into the containment¹ vessel² around reactor³ 1 at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant appears to be working, the plant owner said Thursday. Higher pressure levels have been measured inside the vessel, indicating the nitrogen is going in as intended.
Tokyo Electric Power said the possibility of an explosion is low, but the work is necessary because of the risk that rising levels of hydrogen inside the containment vessel could cause a blast that would release deadly radiation.
Hydrogen explosions already have blown the roofs off reactor buildings one and three.
An explosion inside the containment vessel, the protective concrete shell that surrounds the reactor pressure vessel, would be serious and likely would release more radioactive debris⁴ into the air and environment.
Tokyo Electric also plans to pump nitrogen into reactors⁵ two and three, but started with reactor one because it appears to have the most damage.
Meanwhile, levels of radioactive iodine-131 in seawater around the plant have dropped sharply, after a crack that was leaking highly toxic⁶ water was plugged Wednesday.
Measurements showed levels 140,000 times the legal limit - still very high - but much lower than the 7.5-million times the limit measured in the past week.
The levels of radiation in towns and villages around the plant continue to be of concern to residents, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said government advice for them may be reviewed.
Edano said the government will consider the effects of long-term exposure to radiation on residents in the 20- to 30-kilometer zone around the Fukushima plant. At present, residents are advised to stay indoors as much as possible, but in some cases it might ask residents to evacuate⁷.

1 containment   

n.阻止，遏制；容量

参考例句：

• Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
• Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说，心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。

2 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

3 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

4 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

5 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

6 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

7 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。