紐瓦克的水中有鉛，一位母親擔(dān)心她的孩子“中毒”

紐瓦克的水中有鉛，一位母親擔(dān)心她的孩子“中毒”

The water 5-year-old Bryce loves could have profound effects on his health. Though human skin does not absorb lead from water, Thomas fears Bryce could accidentally ingest the water that flows into the family's home while playing. He'd just helped his mom wash dishes under a filter that reduces lead in contaminated tap water.

5歲的布萊斯喜歡的水可能對他的健康有深遠(yuǎn)的影響。雖然人類的皮膚不能從水中吸收鉛，但托馬斯擔(dān)心布萊斯可能會在玩耍時不小心把家里的水喝掉。他剛剛幫媽媽在過濾器下洗完盤子，過濾器能減少自來水中的鉛。

Thomas rose to compose herself, another sea of toys around the chair at her feet. She stepped toward the kitchen where Bryce played.

托馬斯站起身來，讓自己平靜下來，她腳邊的椅子周圍又是一片玩具的海洋。她走向布萊斯玩耍的廚房。

"They're not advocating for the residents at all," Thomas said of local politicians. "Forget the adults. What about the children? Who's looking out for them? He can't go to the City Council and speak on his own behalf. He doesn't even know he's being poisoned."

“他們根本不是在為當(dāng)?shù)鼐用褶q護(hù)，”托馬斯在談到當(dāng)?shù)卣蜁r說。“忘記了成年人。孩子們呢?誰在照顧他們?他不能去市議會代表自己發(fā)言。他甚至不知道自己中毒了。”

New Jersey's largest city this week began offering bottled water to about 14,000 households that may have been consuming tap water contaminated with lead for months or possibly years -- a move residents and water experts said came long after official denials anything was wrong.

新澤西州最大的城市本周開始向大約1.4萬戶家庭提供瓶裝水，這些家庭可能已經(jīng)飲用了數(shù)月甚至數(shù)年受鉛污染的自來水。居民和水資源專家表示，在官方否認(rèn)存在任何問題很久之后，他們才采取了這一舉措。

The growing crisis in Newark is being compared to Flint, Michigan.In Michigan, where many low-income people are predominantly African-American, chronically dangerous lead levels in communities have forced people to rely on bottled water and led to lawsuits against state and local officials.

人們將紐瓦克日益嚴(yán)重的危機(jī)與密歇根州弗林特市(Flint)進(jìn)行了比較。在密歇根州，有許多以非洲裔美國人為主的低收入人群，社區(qū)中長期存在危險的鉛水平，迫使人們依賴瓶裝水，并導(dǎo)致州和地方官員遭到起訴。

"It's once again a case of environmental injustice, a case of environmental racism," Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the Flint physician who sounded the alarm on that city's water crisis, said of Newark.

“這又是一個環(huán)境不公的案例，一個環(huán)境種族主義的案例，”弗林特的醫(yī)生莫娜·漢納-阿提莎(Mona Hanna-Attisha)博士在談到紐瓦克時說。他曾為該市的水危機(jī)敲響了警鐘。

"It is once again a population of poor, predominantly minority people who are disproportionately burdened by contamination. Flint wasn't the first example. Newark is not the last example."

“這又是一個貧困人口，主要是少數(shù)人，他們承受著不成比例的污染負(fù)擔(dān)。弗林特不是第一個例子。紐瓦克不是最后一個例子。”

Water crisis pits neighbor against neighbor

水危機(jī)使鄰里對立

The matter of lead-tainted tap water first flickered on the Newark radar nearly a decade ago, when water samples taken from city schools tested above a key federal threshold for safe lead levels. Problematic pipes and fixtures were replaced, but citywide testing in 2017 showed the same problem in a substantial number of homes.

近10年前，紐瓦克市的自來水中鉛污染的問題首次引起了人們的注意，當(dāng)時該市學(xué)校抽取的水樣檢測結(jié)果高于聯(lián)邦政府規(guī)定的安全鉛含量的一個關(guān)鍵閾值。更換了有問題的管道和固定裝置，但2017年全市范圍內(nèi)的測試顯示，相當(dāng)多的家庭存在同樣的問題。

In a city of about 285,000 people who have struggled through extreme poverty, spasms of violent crime and a cash-strapped municipal government, the water crisis has led to tension between concerned residents and supporters of the Baraka, a Newark native and son of the poet and activist Amiri Baraka.

在這座擁有約28.5萬人口的城市，人們一直在與極端貧困、暴力犯罪和資金緊張的市政府作斗爭，水資源危機(jī)導(dǎo)致了憂心忡忡的居民和巴拉卡支持者之間的緊張關(guān)系。巴拉卡是紐瓦克本地人，詩人、活動人士阿米里巴拉卡之子。

Newark kids' blood lead levels are top in state

紐瓦克兒童的血鉛水平是全州最高的

The city tested Thomas' water in the fall of 2017 for lead and said it was about 9 parts per billion, below the 15 parts per billion (ppb) limit at which the US Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, requires official corrective action to be taken. Thomas learned the result from a letter sent by the city that she shared with CNN.

該市在2017年秋季對托馬斯的水進(jìn)行了鉛檢測，并表示其鉛含量約為9 ppb，低于美國環(huán)境保護(hù)局(EPA)要求采取官方糾正措施的15 ppb限值。托馬斯是從市政府發(fā)來的一封信中得知這一結(jié)果的，并與CNN分享了這封信。

An independent test about 14 months later, however, showed lead levels of 27 ppb, nearly twice the EPA's action-level mark.

大約14個月后進(jìn)行的一項獨立測試顯示，鉛水平為27 ppb，幾乎是EPA行動水平標(biāo)志的兩倍。

City gives out 35,000+ lead-safe water filters

該市發(fā)放了3.5萬個鉛安全濾水器

The NRDC learned in 2017 that Newark had elevated lead levels, said Erik D. Olson, a drinking water expert at the council. But when the group approached city officials to offer help, "we didn't get anywhere." In 2018, the nonprofit teamed up with the Newark Education Workers Caucus and began ongoing litigation against the city.

自然資源保護(hù)委員會的飲用水專家埃里克·d·奧爾森說，委員會在2017年得知紐瓦克的鉛含量升高了。但當(dāng)該組織找到市政府官員提供幫助時，“我們一無所獲。”2018年，這家非營利組織與紐瓦克教育工作者協(xié)會合作，開始對該市提起訴訟。

Not all residents can get free bottled water

并不是所有的居民都能得到免費的瓶裝水

At the Boylan Street Recreation Center, one of the city's bottled water distribution points, some residents in long lines were turned away this week after city officials told them they did not live in areas with high lead levels.

在該市瓶裝水配送中心之一的博伊蘭街娛樂中心(Boylan Street Recreation Center)，一些排長隊的居民本周被拒之門外，原因是該市官員告訴他們，他們不住在鉛含量較高的地區(qū)。

A truck from the city's emergency management office delivered pallets of bottled water on sweltering Wednesday afternoon. One resident quipped, "Is the expiration date good on these?" referring to an incident one day earlier when city officials did not distribute bottled water that had an expired best-by date.

在炎熱的周三下午，來自該市應(yīng)急管理辦公室的一輛卡車運送了瓶裝水。一位居民打趣地說，“這些東西的到期日好嗎?”指的是一天前發(fā)生的一起事件，當(dāng)時市政府官員沒有分發(fā)過期的最佳日期的瓶裝水。

As summer winds down, Thomas keeps a close eye on Bryce whenever he plays with the water -- whether it's the tub filled with toy sharks, in the kitchen sink with his winged reptiles or at the garden hose in the backyard.

隨著夏天的結(jié)束，每當(dāng)布萊斯玩水的時候，托馬斯都會密切關(guān)注著他——不管是裝滿玩具鯊魚的浴缸，還是在廚房的水槽里的有翼爬行動物，還是在后院的花園水管里。

"The lead is not visible," she said. "There's no smell to it, no particular taste. It's kind of like an invisible killer. and our kids are being exposed to it every day, every time the water comes on."

“鉛是看不見的，”她說。“它沒有氣味，沒有特別的味道。它有點像隱形殺手。每次來水的時候，我們的孩子都會接觸到它，。”