Section outline

  • General

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  • 环境环境

    Aerial view of ships in polluted water, highlighting environmental waste issues.

    What are the effects of waste within our environment?
    ::在我们的环境里,废物有什么影响?

    Where to dump the garbage?  Where to put the waste materials we don’t want, after we have made what we do want?  For many years we just dumped the waste in the nearest lake, river, empty spot of ground, and didn’t worry about it.  However, as we learn more about the effects of chemicals on living systems, we have become more concerned about the effects of all this dumping.  In many cases, we just didn’t know what the long-term effects would be.  Today, dumping is generally illegal and offenders pay heavy penalties of fines and jail sentences.
    ::将垃圾丢到哪里去? 将我们不想丢弃的废物放在哪里,在我们做了我们想要的东西之后? 多年来,我们只是把废物扔到最近的湖泊、河流、空地,而没有担心它。 然而,随着我们更多地了解化学物质对生活系统的影响,我们更加关注所有这些垃圾倾弃的影响。 在许多情况下,我们只是不知道长期影响会是什么。 如今,倾弃一般是非法的,违法者要处以重罚和监禁。

    Environment
    ::环境环境环境

    Many chemicals that were once commonly used were later found out to be harmful to the environment , to human health, or both.  The lead was once a common additive to gasoline and to paint.  Plumbing pipes were once typically made of lead.  Only since the 1970s has the danger of lead become apparent.  It causes brain damage and small children (who often chewed on objects painted with lead-based paint) are particularly susceptible.  The use of lead in gasoline, paint, and plumbing pipes is now banned and new materials are being developed to replace the hazardous lead components.
    ::许多曾经常用的化学品后来被发现对环境、人类健康或两者都有害,铅曾经是汽油和油漆的常见添加剂,管道管道通常由铅制成,直到1970年代才明显出现铅的危险,造成脑损伤,幼儿(往往被涂有含铅涂料的物品咀嚼)特别容易感染,汽油、油漆和管道中的铅现已禁用,正在开发新材料以取代有害的铅成分。

     

     

    Lead is still widely used in car .  In recent years, battery recycling is becoming very common - about 98% of car batteries a recycled today.  The used batteries go to a processing plant where they are crushed and placed in a tank.  The lead sinks to the bottom and can be separated, melted and used again.  Plastic materials float to the top, are separated, and melted.  The plastic can then be used in a number of applications.  The battery acids are treated with chemicals to neutralize them before they are disposed of.
    ::铅仍在汽车中广泛使用。近年来,电池回收正在变得非常普遍 -- -- 大约98%的汽车电池是今天回收的。用过的电池被送到一个加工厂,在那里被粉碎,放在一个罐子里。铅汇在底部,可以再次分离、熔化和使用。塑料材料漂浮到顶部,可以分离和熔化。塑料可以用于若干用途。电池酸用化学剂处理,以便在处理之前将其中和。

    A pallet stacked with used car batteries ready for recycling.

    Batteries for recycling.
    ::回收利用电池。

     

    How Chemists Help the Environment
    ::化学化学家如何帮助环境

    Chemists are involved in all aspects of environmental protection.  In the case of lead, chemists measured the amount of lead in soil, paint, plumbing, blood, and other materials.  Chemists studied the chemical processes in the body to see how lead did its damage.  Methods for removal of lead from the body were developed with the help of chemists.  New gasoline products were developed that gave good fuel efficiency and smooth running of the engine without the presence of lead.
    ::化学家参与了环境保护的所有方面,在铅方面,化学家测量了土壤、油漆、管道、血液和其他材料中的铅含量,化学家研究了体内的化学过程,以了解铅是如何损坏的,化学家在化学家的帮助下开发了将铅从体内去除的方法,开发了新的汽油产品,在没有铅的情况下提高了燃料效率并顺利运行发动机。

    Chemists continue to look for threats to our health and the environment and to search for alternatives so that harmful chemicals can be replaced with others that will do the job as effectively, but without the harm.
    ::化学家们继续寻找对我们健康和环境的威胁,并寻找替代物,以便用其他能够有效但无危害地完成工作的化学品取代有害化学品。

    Summary 
    ::摘要

    • Environmental contamination is a major problem today.
      ::环境污染是当今的一个主要问题。
    • Lead contamination has serious harmful effects on the body.
      ::铅污染对身体造成严重的有害影响。
    • Chemists contribute in many ways to helping with issues of lead contamination.
      ::化学家以多种方式帮助解决铅污染问题。

    Review
    ::回顾

    1. Where was lead found in products?
      ::产品中哪里发现了铅?
    2. What is a hazard of lead?
      ::什么是铅的危险?
    3. What happens to the lead in used car batteries?
      ::旧汽车电池中的铅会怎么样?
    4. List two ways chemists help with issues related to lead contamination.
      ::列出化学家帮助解决铅污染问题的两种方式。