Japan May Have to Dump Radioactive Fukushima Water Into the Pacific Ocean

　　日本可能不得不将福岛核电站的放射性污水排入太平洋

　　A Japanese official has just publicly announced that they might end up dumping radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.

　　一名日本官员刚刚公开宣布，他们可能不得不将受损的福岛核电站的放射性污水排入太平洋中。

　　The disturbing pronouncement came from the environment minister of Japan himself, Yoshiaki Harada. According to Harada, Tokyo Electric (Tepco), the firm tasked with the cleanup is running out of room to store the liquid, MailOnline reports.

　　这一令人不安的声明来自于日本环境大臣原田义昭。据《每日邮报》 报道，根据原田义昭的说法，负责清理工作的东京电力公司用于存放这种放射性污染水的设施已经没有储存空间了。

　　On March 11, 2011, a massive earthquake caused three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to meltdown, releasing radiation into the air and forcing the evacuation of more than 160,000 people from the area. Tepco has had to continually use fresh water to cool the reactors over the last eight years.

　　2011年3月11日，大地震导致福岛第一核电站的3个反应堆熔毁，放射性物质泄漏，迫使超过16万人从该地区撤离。在过去8年里，东京电力公司不得不使用淡水来冷却反应堆。

　　Through the process, the company has so far collected over 1 million metric tons of contaminated water stored in 900 tanks on the grounds at Daiichi. Harada says there would be no space left to contain the hazardous water by 2022.

　　在处理作业期间，该公司迄今已经在第一核电站场址处的900个储水设施中储存了超过100万吨的核污水。原田义昭称，到2022年，将没有空间来储存污染废水。

　　“The only option will be to drain it into the sea and dilute it,” Harada was quoted as saying during a press briefing. “The whole of the government will discuss this, but I would like to offer my simple opinion.”

　　原田义昭在一次新闻发布会上说：“唯一的选择就是将其排入大海中进行稀释，政府将对该问题进行商讨，但我的看法就是这样”。

　　In a separate media briefing, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has distanced the government from Harada’s comments, describing it as “his personal opinion.”

　　在另外一次媒体发布会上，日本内阁官房长官菅义伟将原田义昭的说法与日本政府撇清了关系，他将其称为“原田义昭的个人观点”。

　　Pushing through with the environment minister’s “simple opinion” could potentially cause tension in the Pacific region.

　　一旦推行环境大臣原田义昭的这种“个人观点”，可能会导致太平洋地区的局势变得紧张。

　　Just last month, South Korea summoned a senior Japanese embassy official to explain how Japan is hoping to address the Fukushima water situation. In a statement, South Korea’s foreign ministry shared that it advised Japan “to take a wise and prudent decision on the issue.”

　　就在上个月，韩国召见了日本大使馆的一位高级官员，要求日本就如何应对福岛核污水的问题做出解释。韩国外交部在一份声明中表示，建议日本“在这个问题上做出明智和谨慎的决定”。

　　Greenpeace has been urging Tepco to keep storing the water and continue developing water processing technology that could remove the radioactive elements.

　　绿色和平组织一直在敦促东京电力公司继续对核污水进行储存，并继续开发能够去除放射性元素的水处理技术。

　　(全文共314个词)

　　重难点词汇：

　　evacuation  n. 疏散；撤离；排泄

　　hazardous  adj. 有危险的；冒险的；碰运气的

　　summon  vt. 召唤；召集；鼓起；振作

　　prudent  adj. 谨慎的；精明的；节俭的