纽瓦克的水中有铅，一位母亲担心她的孩子“中毒”

纽瓦克的水中有铅，一位母亲担心她的孩子“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岁的布莱斯喜欢的水可能对他的健康有深远的影响。虽然人类的皮肤不能从水中吸收铅，但托马斯担心布莱斯可能会在玩耍时不小心把家里的水喝掉。他刚刚帮妈妈在过滤器下洗完盘子，过滤器能减少自来水中的铅。

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

托马斯站起身来，让自己平静下来，她脚边的椅子周围又是一片玩具的海洋。她走向布莱斯玩耍的厨房。

"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."

“他们根本不是在为当地居民辩护，”托马斯在谈到当地政客时说。“忘记了成年人。孩子们呢?谁在照顾他们?他不能去市议会代表自己发言。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.

新泽西州最大的城市本周开始向大约1.4万户家庭提供瓶装水，这些家庭可能已经饮用了数月甚至数年受铅污染的自来水。居民和水资源专家表示，在官方否认存在任何问题很久之后，他们才采取了这一举措。

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.

人们将纽瓦克日益严重的危机与密歇根州弗林特市(Flint)进行了比较。在密歇根州，有许多以非洲裔美国人为主的低收入人群，社区中长期存在危险的铅水平，迫使人们依赖瓶装水，并导致州和地方官员遭到起诉。

"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.

“这又是一个环境不公的案例，一个环境种族主义的案例，”弗林特的医生莫娜·汉纳-阿提莎(Mona Hanna-Attisha)博士在谈到纽瓦克时说。他曾为该市的水危机敲响了警钟。

"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."

“这又是一个贫困人口，主要是少数人，他们承受着不成比例的污染负担。弗林特不是第一个例子。纽瓦克不是最后一个例子。”

Water crisis pits neighbor against neighbor

水危机使邻里对立

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，纽瓦克市的自来水中铅污染的问题首次引起了人们的注意，当时该市学校抽取的水样检测结果高于联邦政府规定的安全铅含量的一个关键阈值。更换了有问题的管道和固定装置，但2017年全市范围内的测试显示，相当多的家庭存在同样的问题。

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.

在这座拥有约28.5万人口的城市，人们一直在与极端贫困、暴力犯罪和资金紧张的市政府作斗争，水资源危机导致了忧心忡忡的居民和巴拉卡支持者之间的紧张关系。巴拉卡是纽瓦克本地人，诗人、活动人士阿米里巴拉卡之子。

Newark kids' blood lead levels are top in state

纽瓦克儿童的血铅水平是全州最高的

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.

该市在2017年秋季对托马斯的水进行了铅检测，并表示其铅含量约为9 ppb，低于美国环境保护局(EPA)要求采取官方纠正措施的15 ppb限值。托马斯是从市政府发来的一封信中得知这一结果的，并与CNN分享了这封信。

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

大约14个月后进行的一项独立测试显示，铅水平为27 ppb，几乎是EPA行动水平标志的两倍。

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

该市发放了3.5万个铅安全滤水器

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.

自然资源保护委员会的饮用水专家埃里克·d·奥尔森说，委员会在2017年得知纽瓦克的铅含量升高了。但当该组织找到市政府官员提供帮助时，“我们一无所获。”2018年，这家非营利组织与纽瓦克教育工作者协会合作，开始对该市提起诉讼。

Not all residents can get free bottled water

并不是所有的居民都能得到免费的瓶装水

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.

在该市瓶装水配送中心之一的博伊兰街娱乐中心(Boylan Street Recreation Center)，一些排长队的居民本周被拒之门外，原因是该市官员告诉他们，他们不住在铅含量较高的地区。

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.

在炎热的周三下午，来自该市应急管理办公室的一辆卡车运送了瓶装水。一位居民打趣地说，“这些东西的到期日好吗?”指的是一天前发生的一起事件，当时市政府官员没有分发过期的最佳日期的瓶装水。

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.

随着夏天的结束，每当布莱斯玩水的时候，托马斯都会密切关注着他——不管是装满玩具鲨鱼的浴缸，还是在厨房的水槽里的有翼爬行动物，还是在后院的花园水管里。

"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."

“铅是看不见的，”她说。“它没有气味，没有特别的味道。它有点像隐形杀手。每次来水的时候，我们的孩子都会接触到它，。”