[ti:US Nuclear Waste Cleanup Delayed] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]For more than 20 years, nuclear waste in the United States [00:05.36]has been stored at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in southern New Mexico. [00:12.64]The waste is placed deep inside large salt caves. [00:18.96]Trucks usually bring several shipments a week of materials contaminated with radioactive elements [00:27.60]from South Carolina, Idaho and other areas. [00:33.80]Now, shipments to the plant will come almost to a complete stop [00:39.12]as the U.S. deals with the new coronavirus crisis. [00:45.52]National laboratories and defense sites in the United States [00:50.68]are carrying out only those operations considered "mission critical." [00:57.60]Officials at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant warned state officials in a letter [01:04.52]that more time would be needed for inspections. [01:09.44]They added that work would either be decreased or that they would take measures [01:14.88]to make sure workers keep their distance from one another. [01:20.72]Donavan Mager is a spokesman for Nuclear Waste Partnership, which runs the plant. [01:28.16]He told the Associated Press, "This action is being taken out of an abundance of caution [01:35.52]for the safety of employees and the community." [01:40.76]The same thing is happening at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. [01:46.04]The once-secret city in northern New Mexico became famous for being the birthplace of the atomic bomb. [01:55.44]Most employees there are working away from the area. [02:01.08]Some work related to cleanup will continue, such as radiological studies [02:07.04]and inspections of harmful waste storage areas. [02:12.12]Workers will also keep watch of an early warning system designed to protect drinking water supplies. [02:21.80]In Washington state, visitors are no longer permitted at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. [02:30.00]Public meetings at the site have been canceled. [02:34.12]The number of employees there has decreased to the "absolute minimum." [02:40.88]The employees are those needed to run safety and security programs [02:46.64]and keep technology systems in operation for those working at home. [02:53.44]Officials at these and other sites say their decisions are guided by state and federal public health orders. [03:02.48]The aim is to get people to stay home and limit contact with others [03:08.76]to ease the growing number of cases and deaths related to COVID-19. [03:16.88]Worker safety is always a top priority, said U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell. [03:25.72]She and others pushed for more money and federal action [03:30.24]to speed up the nation's cleanup program during a congressional meeting in early March. [03:38.56]"We are fighting to make sure workers and their families are taken care of during this crisis [03:45.64]and that workers have the resources they need to meet cleanup goals [03:50.76]when they are able to safely return to their jobs," she told The Associated Press in an email. [03:59.52]The Trump administration's proposed budget for the U.S. Energy Department includes nearly $27 billion. [04:09.28]Most of that money would go toward nuclear security work [04:13.56]that includes restarting production of parts used inside nuclear weapons. [04:21.52]Less than 25 percent of that would be used for cleanup of 16 sites in 11 states. [04:30.80]The federal government has agreements with several states to reach certain cleanup goals. [04:37.92]Officials note that the Energy Department's environmental managers [04:42.60]are considering the possible effects on current projects as the virus spreads. [04:50.52]Jay Coghlan is executive director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico. [04:57.12]He said, "The coronavirus pandemic demonstrates why we should get cleanup done once and for all... [05:04.64]the radioactive and toxic wastes that we leave behind last longer than our recorded history. [05:12.96]We should be acting now." [05:16.88]U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich said worker health should remain the main concern. [05:25.64]But they noted that increased funding for environmental management [05:30.08]could help support jobs and speed up cleanup in the future. [05:36.56]I'm Jonathan Evans. [05:39.24]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM