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| The derailment of a Norfolk Southern train that spilled toxic chemicals and led to a controlled burn of the substances in East Palestine, Ohio, has become one of the highest-profile — and most politicized — incidents of its kind in the United States in recent years. | 诺福克南方铁路运营的一列火车在俄亥俄州东巴勒斯坦出轨，导致有毒化学品泄漏和对这些化学物质进行的受控燃烧，已成为近年来美国同类事件中最引人注目和最政治化的事件之一。 |
| Frightened residents in the town of 4,700 have complained about various ailments in the weeks since the wreck, which took place on Feb. 3, and are worried about long-term health consequences. State and federal officials have said repeatedly that they have yet to detect dangerous levels of chemicals in the air or municipal water. | 自2月3日发生事故以来，东巴勒斯坦4700名受惊的居民几周内报告了各种疾病，并担心长期的健康后果。州和联邦官员一再表示，他们尚未检测到空气或自来水中有达到危险水平的化学物质。 |
| Some experts say that fully understanding the consequences of the accident requires a more comprehensive investigation — and more time to pass. But as residents wait, their efforts to process what happened have been complicated by political crossfire and misinformation. | 一些专家表示，要充分了解事故的后果需要进行更全面的调查——以及更多时间。但在居民等待的过程中，政治交锋和虚假信息导致更难厘清事情的原委。 |
| Conservatives have been particularly critical of the derailment and the federal response, using the crisis to sow public distrust in government agencies. Some commentators have claimed a cover-up — despite widespread news media coverage — and many Republican politicians have accused the Biden administration of neglecting the community in the incident’s aftermath. | 保守派对脱轨和联邦政府的应对尤其不满，利用危机散布公众对政府机构的不信任。尽管新闻媒体进行了广泛报道，一些评论员声称事实被掩盖，而许多共和党政客指责拜登政府在事件发生后对当地社区不闻不问。 |
| Here is what is known — and not known — about the derailment and its impact. | 以下是关于脱轨及其影响的已知和未知信息。 |
| What chemicals were on the train, and what are the dangers? | 火车上有哪些化学品，它们存在什么样的危险？ |
| About 20 of the roughly 150 train cars en route from Madison, Ill., to Conway, Pa., were carrying hazardous materials, according to a Feb. 10 letter from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. | 根据环境保护署2月10日的一封信，在这列从伊利诺伊州麦迪逊开往宾夕法尼亚州康威的火车上，大约150节车厢中约有20节载有危险品。 |
| It said that the compounds released into the environment included: | 信中说，释放到环境中的化合物包括： |
| • Butyl acrylate, a clear liquid with a fruity odor that can cause breathing difficulty and skin irritation. | • 丙烯酸丁酯，一种带有水果气味的透明液体，会引起呼吸困难和皮肤刺激。 |
| • Ethylhexyl acrylate, a clear liquid that is used to make paints and plastics and can irritate the skin, eyes and respiratory tract. | • 丙烯酸乙基己酯，一种用于制造油漆和塑料的透明液体，会刺激皮肤、眼睛和呼吸道。 |
| • Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, a colorless liquid that is used to make paints and varnish. In an experiment that exposed people to a high level of the chemical for several hours, some subjects reported irritation of the nose and eyes, headaches and vomiting. | • 乙二醇单丁醚，一种用于制造油漆和清漆的无色液体。在一项让人们接触高浓度化学物质数小时的实验中，一些受试者报告眼鼻受到刺激、头痛和呕吐。 |
| • Vinyl chloride, a colorless gas used in making plastic products. The compound, which the E.P.A. has said was on five of the train cars, was of particular concern to authorities in the days following the derailment. The gas has what toxicologists describe as a “mild, sweet odor” and can cause dizziness, headaches and drowsiness when inhaled in the short term, and a rare form of liver cancer after chronic exposure. | • 氯乙烯，一种用于制造塑料产品的无色气体。环保署称有五节车厢载有这种化合物，在出轨后的几天里引起了当局的特别关注。毒理学家描述这种气体有“温和的甜味”，短期内吸入会导致头晕、头痛和嗜睡，长期接触会导致一种罕见的肝癌。 |
| When burned, vinyl chloride decomposes into gases that include hydrogen chloride and phosgene. Hydrogen chloride has a strong, irritating odor and is corrosive to any tissue that comes in contact with it, according to the federal toxic substances registry. Phosgene smells like freshly cut hay and can cause coughing and wheezing if inhaled. | 燃烧时，氯乙烯会分解成含有氯化氢和光气的气体。根据联邦有毒物质目录的说法，氯化氢具有强烈的刺激性气味，并且任何身体组织在接触到氯化氢时都会被腐蚀。光气闻起来像刚收割的干草，如果吸入会引起咳嗽和气喘。 |
| Why were the chemicals burned? | 为什么要将化学品烧毁？ |
| Norfolk Southern conducted the controlled release and burn-off of some of the train’s chemical cargo — a process that generated a massive, sooty plume of smoke on Feb. 6 — to avoid an explosion that might have caused even more widespread damage, officials said. Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, signed off on the plan, describing it as the lesser of two evils; Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, a Democrat, also approved it, though he accused Norfolk Southern of mishandling the process and failing to consider other options. | 官员们说，诺福克南方公司对火车上的一些化学品进行了控制释放和燃烧——该过程在2月6日产生了巨大的煤烟柱——以避免可能造成更广泛损害的爆炸。该计划得到了共和党州长迈克·德温的认可，称其为两害相权取其轻；宾夕法尼亚州州长、民主党人乔什·夏皮罗也批准了，不过他指责诺福克南方公司处理不当，没有考虑其他选择。 |
| What are dioxins, and why are some people concerned? | 二恶英是什么？为什么有人会担心它？ |
| Dioxins are toxic pollutants that may have formed as the vinyl chloride cargo burned. Because they take a while to break down, they could pose a long-term threat. | 二恶英是有毒污染物，可能在氯乙烯货物燃烧时形成。由于降解较慢，可能会构成长期威胁。 |
| While these compounds are already present in many environments — they can be byproducts of burning fuel, among other things — the E.P.A. has been working for decades to reduce their production. According to the agency, they can cause cancer, interfere with hormones and cause damage to reproductive and immune systems. | 虽然这些化合物已经存在于许多环境中——它们可能是燃料燃烧的副产品，但环保署几十年来一直在努力减少其排放。根据署方的说法，二恶英会导致癌症，干扰激素，并对生殖和免疫系统造成损害。 |
| On Tuesday, Michael Regan, the E.P.A. administrator, said he had talked with community members about their concerns around dioxins, but stopped short of saying the agency would test for them. | 周二，环保署长迈克尔·里根表示，他已经与社区成员讨论了他们对二恶英的担忧，但没有说环保署会对它们进行检测。 |
| “I’m taking that information back to my team, back to Washington D.C., and I want folks to know we’ve heard them loud and clear on that topic,” he said. | “我将把这些信息带回我的团队，带回华盛顿，我想让人们知道，我们已经清楚地听到了他们在这个问题上的声音，”他说。 |
| Murray McBride, a soil and environmental chemist and an emeritus professor at Cornell University, said that more tests were needed to determine whether dioxins had been deposited onto soil as a result of the chemical burn — and if so, how far they may have spread. | 土壤和环境化学家、康奈尔大学名誉教授默里·麦克布莱德说，需要进行更多测试，来确定二恶英是否由于化学品燃烧而沉积在土壤之中，以及如果发生这种情况，可能已经传播了多远。 |
| Has the release of chemicals caused people to get sick? | 化学物质的释放是否已导致人们生病？ |
| The answer is not clear. People who live in and around East Palestine have complained of headaches, coughs, rashes and other classic symptoms of chemical exposure. | 答案并不明确。居住在东巴勒斯坦及周边地区的人们诉称有头痛、咳嗽、皮疹和接触化学品的其他典型症状。 |
| Experts from top environmental and health agencies have been testing whether chemicals released in the crash or burned off afterward have contaminated the air or water. As of yet, though, they have not been able to explain why people are still reporting ailments. | 来自顶级环境和卫生机构的专家一直在检测事故中泄漏以及之后燃烧产生的化学物质是否污染了空气和水。不过，到目前为止，他们还无法解释为什么人们仍在报告疾病。 |
| State and federal officials have said continually that they have not detected dangerous levels of chemicals in the air or municipal water, citing preliminary data from hundreds of homes in the town. Pennsylvania officials have also tested private wells near the derailment site, which is very close to the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. | 州官员和联邦官员不断表示，他们没有在空气或自来水中检测到危险水平的化学物质，并引用了该镇数百个家庭的初步数据。宾夕法尼亚州官员也对脱轨地点附近的私人水井进行了测试，那里非常靠近俄亥俄州和宾夕法尼亚州的边界。 |
| What was the damage to local water? | 当地水源受到了怎样的破坏？ |
| The contaminants spilled into some waterways and affected about seven and a half miles of stream, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. By Feb. 8, the spill had killed an estimated 3,500 fish. Officials used dams to divert clean water around contaminated areas. | 据俄亥俄州自然资源部称，污染物流入了一些水道，影响了约12公里的河流。截至2月8日，泄漏已造成约3500条鱼死亡。官员们利用水坝将清洁的水引到污染地区周围。 |
| Vinyl chloride may have killed the fish shortly after the spill, Dr. McBride said, but the compound may have dissipated from waterways in the weeks since. He said he was more concerned that vinyl chloride may have seeped into the subsoil, where it could remain for longer periods of time, potentially endangering nearby wells. | 麦克布莱德说，可能是氯乙烯在泄漏后不久杀死了这些鱼，但在泄漏后的几周内，这种化合物可能已经从水道中消散了。他说，他更担心的是氯乙烯可能已经渗入地下，在那里可能停留更长的时间，这可能危及附近的水井。 |
| State and federal officials have stressed that the municipal water is safe. The E.P.A. has tested dozens of wells, mostly in Ohio, and found them safe as well. But officials have encouraged families in the area with private wells to keep drinking bottled water until their wells are tested; scheduling those tests has been challenging because of high demand. | 州政府和联邦官员都强调自来水是安全的。环保署已对数十处大多位于俄亥俄州的水源进行了检测，结果都是安全的。但官员还是推荐该地区使用私井的家庭继续饮用瓶装水，直至自家水井完成检测；由于需求太多，这些检测在排期上面临挑战。 |
| Would a regulation repealed by the Trump administration have prevented the derailment? | 被特朗普政府废除的法规真能预防脱轨？ |
| Probably not. A 2015 rule that was implemented during the Obama administration imposed stricter regulations for high-hazard flammable trains, including a requirement for more sophisticated braking systems. | 应该不能。奥巴马政府在2015年出台了一项规定，对运载高危易燃物质的列车实施了更严格监管，包括要求列车配备更精密的制动系统。 |
| The rule was repealed in 2018 under President Trump. And in a statement last week, the White House said that Republicans should “stop dismantling rail safety and selling out communities like East Palestine to the rail lobby.” | 该规定于2018年被特朗普政府废除。白宫在上周的声明中表示，共和党人应“停止破坏铁路安全，不要再将东巴勒斯坦这类社区的利益出卖给铁路游说团体”。 |
| But the train that derailed was a “general merchandise freight train,” according to the initial N.T.S.B. report, and did not qualify as a high-hazard flammable train, even though it was carrying hazardous cargo. And while the regulation was meant to address the speed of trains, speed does not appear to have been the issue in this case. | 但根据国家运输安全委员会的最初报告，脱轨列车是“一般商品货运列车”，尽管运载了危险货物，但并不属于高危易燃列车的范畴。再者，该规定旨在解决列车速度问题，但车速似乎并不是这起事故的主因。 |
| When did federal officials arrive at the site? | 联邦官员何时抵达事故现场？ |
| The E.P.A. has had a presence on the ground in East Palestine since 2 a.m. on Feb. 4, hours after the crash, to help state and local authorities with response efforts, according to an agency spokeswoman. By the end of that day, the E.P.A. had 17 coordinators and contractors performing air quality monitoring and testing, had brought in a mobile analytical laboratory to test samples and had deployed a special aircraft to assess emissions releases. | 环保署发言人称，2月4日凌晨2点，也就是脱轨事故发生数小时后，该机构就开始向东巴勒斯坦部署现场人员，协助州政府和地方当局的应对工作。到当日结束，环保署已有17名协调员和承包商在负责空气质量监测与测试工作，并增设一个移动分析实验室来检测样本，还部署了一架特种飞机来评估排放情况。 |
| Still, administration officials have faced criticism over what some residents and lawmakers have seen as a delayed response. Mr. Regan, the E.P.A. administrator, toured the derailment site on Feb. 16. Noting that the site was 20 miles from his state’s border, Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, a Democrat, decried as “unacceptable that it took nearly two weeks for a senior administration official to show up.” | 尽管如此，因部分居民和议员认定应对迟缓，政府官员还是面临批评。环保署局长里根在2月16日视察了脱轨现场。西弗吉尼亚州参议员乔·曼钦三世指出，事故地点距离他的州边境仅32公里，而“高级主管官员近两周之后才姗姗来迟，这是不可接受的”。 |
| The U.S. transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, visited East Palestine on Thursday, more than two weeks after the crash, and President Biden said Friday that he had no plans to visit. | 周四，在事故发生超过两周后，运输部长皮特·布蒂吉格到访东巴勒斯坦，而拜登总统周五表示，他并无来此视察的计划。 |
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