墨西哥灣漏油事故嚴重程度創(chuàng)美國歷史之最

Spill Tops Valdez Disaster

As authorities waited Thursday to see whether BP PLC's 'top kill' operation would stop the oil gushing from the company's broken well in the Gulf of Mexico, a federal panel of scientists made estimates of the spill that would rank it the worst in U.S. history, surpassing the Exxon Valdez disaster of 1989.
周四，當(dāng)局正在等待英國石油公司(BP PLC) “滅頂”行動的結(jié)果，看此次行動能否停止該公司墨西哥灣破損油井的石油泄漏。同時，由多名科學(xué)家組成的聯(lián)邦小組估計此次漏油事件的影響將超過1989年埃克森•瓦爾迪茲號(Exxon Valdez)油輪漏油災(zāi)難，成為美國歷史上最嚴重的漏油事故。

BP said late Thursday it had temporarily halted the pumping of heavy drilling fluid, or 'mud,' into the well. The company said much of the fluid had been leaking out of the well, but that it planned to resume pumping mud around midnight.
英國石油公司周四晚說已暫時停止向油井泵入高密度的鉆井液體（或泥漿）。公司說大部分液體已漏出井外，但計劃于午夜前后重新開始向油井泵入泥漿。

Fallout from last month's explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig reverberated in the U.S. capital Thursday, as members of Congress accused BP of deliberately downplaying the size of the leak and President Barack Obama slammed the brakes on off-shore deepwater oil drilling, in a policy pivot from just two months ago.
周四，上個月深水地平線(Deepwater Horizon)鉆井平臺爆炸事件的后果仍在美國國會引起波瀾，國會議員指責(zé)英國石油公司故意低估泄漏的規(guī)模，美國總統(tǒng)奧巴馬(Barack Obama)緊急終止了近海深海石油鉆井，與兩個月前的政策完全相反。

Mr. Obama also accepted the resignation of his top oil regulator, and accepted blame for failures before and after the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon.
奧巴馬還接受了其最高石油監(jiān)管官員的辭呈，并接受了深水地平線鉆井平臺沉沒前后外界對其失職的指責(zé)。

'I take responsibility,' Mr. Obama said at an hour-long news conference. 'It is my job to make sure everything is done to shut this down.'
奧巴馬在長達一小時的新聞發(fā)布會上說，我負責(zé)，我應(yīng)當(dāng)確保盡一切努力把它關(guān)閉，這是我的職責(zé)。

Oil has been spewing from the damaged well since the rig sank on April 22. Eleven workers died in the initial explosions that doomed the rig. Crude has washed up on 100 miles of Louisiana shoreline, threatening the livelihood of tens of thousands of fishermen and shrimpers.
4月22日鉆井平臺沉沒之后，石油一直源源不斷地從破損的油井中噴出。最初的爆炸摧毀了平臺，致使11名工人死亡。原油在路易斯安那州沿海漂浮，延綿100英里，威脅著數(shù)萬名漁民和捕蝦者的生計。

The White House said it had canceled the sale of oil-exploration leases in the western Gulf and off the Atlantic Coast of Virginia, and had delayed a major Arctic drilling project until at least 2011. The administration said it would place a moratorium on issuing any new permits to drill wells in deep water for six months, until an independent commission delivers its report on the disaster.
白宮說已取消出售墨西哥灣西部地區(qū)及弗吉尼亞州大西洋沿岸石油勘探租賃權(quán)，并把一個大型的北極地區(qū)鉆井項目至少推遲到2011年。美國政府說在六個月內(nèi)將暫停批準新的深海鉆井許可，直到獨立委員會發(fā)布對此次災(zāi)難的調(diào)查報告之后才會重新開始。

Efforts at halting the spewing oil by pumping heavy drilling fluid into the well -- known as the 'top kill' procedure -- had showed early signs of success. Lt. Commander Tony Russell of the U.S. Coast Guard said the mud was stopping some oil and gas. But Bob Dudley, BP's managing director, said it could take 24 to 48 hours before to know whether the operation was going to work.
通過向油井中泵入較重的鉆井泥漿中止石油泄漏稱作滅頂法。英國石油公司的這一努力已顯示出初步成功的跡象。美國海岸警衛(wèi)隊少校拉塞爾(Tony Russell)說泥漿止住了部分石油和天然氣的泄漏。但英國石油公司常務(wù)董事達德利(Bob Dudley)說，需24至48小時才能知道這次行動是否有效。