VOA慢速英语:Oil Spill in US Puts Attention on Pipelines, Waterways

Last Friday night, an oil pipeline broke under the Yellowstone River in the western state of Montana. The Yellowstone is America’s longest undammed river. The spill happened downstream from Yellowstone National Park.
上周五晚，在蒙大拿州黄石河底的一条石油管道破裂。黄石河是美国最长的没有堤坝的河流。泄漏发生在黄石国家公园的下游。

The burst pipe spilled as much as one thousand barrels of crude oil -- more than one hundred sixty thousand liters -- into the river.
爆裂的油管泄漏了多达1千桶原油流入河中，总量超过16万升。

Workers shut off the Exxon Mobil pipeline, and the company continues to clean up the spill. But spokeswoman Claire Hassett said examining the damage has been difficult.
工人们关闭了埃克森美孚公司的石油管道，而该公司则继续清理泄漏。但是公司发言人克莱尔．哈西特（Claire Hassett）称，现在检查由此带来的损失非常困难。

CLAIRE HASSETT: “What we have learned so far has been hindered by the rapid flow of the river right now. It’s at historic water levels. It’s very turbulent.”
CLAIRE HASSETT：“迄今为止，我们的调查仍被当前湍急的河水所阻挠。当前河水处于历史性高位。这很难控制.”

The river is at flood levels, overflowing riverbanks and carrying oil downstream into wetlands, fields and yards.
黄石河正处于洪水水位，河水溢出河岸，并把石油带到下游的湿地、农田和码头。

In May, Ms. Hassett says, local officials ordered a temporary shutdown to check on the pipeline. They were concerned with heavy rains and rising waters.
在五月份，哈西特女士表示，地方官员曾下令临时关闭管道进行检查。他们担心暴雨和水位上升对管道造成影响。

CLAIRE HASSETT: "And we determined that it was safe to operate and again we don’t know what has caused this leak so it would be premature to say the two are related."
CLAIRE HASSETT：“我们当时确认管道可以安全运营，然而我们不知道是什么原因导致了这次泄漏。所以现在说这两者有关可能为时过早。”

Susan Casey-Lefkowitz from the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, says the spill shows the dangers of mixing  pipelines and waterways.
环保组织美国自然资源保护委员会工作人员Susan Casey-Lefkowitz表示，这次原油泄漏表明管道与水道混合在一起的危险。

SUSAN CASEY-LEFKOWITZ: "Especially when they are running under some of our most precious river systems that are important not just for wildlife, but also for our communities. The Yellowstone River is critical for irrigation for example.  And so it serves the needs of a lot of farmers and communities along its path.”
Susan Casey-Lefkowitz：“特别是管道位于最珍贵的水系之下。这种水系不仅对野生生物非常重要，对我们的社会也非常重要。例如，黄石河在灌溉方面发挥着关键的作用。所以它能够满足沿途许多农民和社区的需求。”

Andy Black heads the Association of Oil Pipe Lines, an industry group whose members include pipeline owners and operators.
Andy Black是行业组织石油管道协会负责人。该组织成员包括管道所有者和运营者。

ANDY BLACK: “We have processes both within companies and at the associations to share learning and best practices and pursue the goal which is zero accidents."
Andy Black：“我们在公司内部和协会内部都有分享信息和最佳惯例的程序，我们的目标是零事故。”

Mr. Black says the industry operates under enough federal and state rules.
Black先生称，石油管道行业在足够的联邦和州政府制度的监管下运营。

ANDY BLACK: "I don’t see a need to overhaul the regulations. The regulations cover the major causes of pipeline failures, and we do not see any gaps."
Andy Black：“我认为没有必要对监管条例进行改革。监管措施已经涵盖了造成石油管道破裂的大部分原因，我们没有看到任何缺陷。”

Susan Casey-Lefkowitz at the Natural Resources Defense Council disagrees.
自然资源保护委员会的Susan Casey-Lefkowitz不赞同这种说法。

SUSAN CASEY-LEFKOWITZ: “Whereas the oil industry may find it business as usual to have a certain number of spills, it is really not acceptable, especially in this day and age.  It shouldn’t be best practices to have spills in the Kalamazoo River in Michigan, in the Yellowstone River in Montana and potentially in the future in the Ogallala aquifer which would be crossed by this new proposed Keystone XL pipeline.”
Susan Casey-Lefkowitz：“石油行业或许认为出现少数几次漏油事件在所难免，然而这是不可接受的，尤其是在现今社会。密歇根州卡拉马祖河，蒙大拿州的黄石河出现泄漏，这里的监管肯定不是最好的。将来，可能会穿越Ogallala蓄水层的Keystone XL石油管道可能也会出现漏油。”

The Ogallala aquifer is a major source of drinking and irrigation water for America’s central plains. The proposed Keystone XL pipeline would carry heavier crude oil produced from tar sands in Canada. Ms. Casey-Lefkowitz says it would carry the oil more than three thousand kilometers, crossing the central United States -- and the Ogallala -- for processing in Texas.
Ogallala蓄水层是美国中部平原主要的饮用水和灌溉水源。提议的Keystone XL石油管道会运送来自加拿大沥青砂生产的更多原有。Casey-Lefkowitz表示，该管道的距离将超过3,000千米，穿越美国中部，穿越Ogallala蓄水层，然后到得克萨斯州进行加工。

SUSAN CASEY-LEFKOWITZ: "Ironically it would actually cross the Yellowstone River where the spill just happened."
Susan Casey-Lefkowitz：“具有讽刺意义的是，该管道还会穿越现在正在发生漏油事故的黄石河。”