2011级 大学英语四级模拟试卷(2)

Much of the sludge in Plaquemines is the product of nearby bayous and bay bottoms, where sediment was lifted up by Katrina's and Rita's storm surges.

The sediment has been polluted over the years with industrial chemicals and heavy metals, said Subra, who tested the sediment for the Southern Mutual Help Association, a nonprofit organization in New Iberia, Louisiana.

"These water bodies have received industrial wastes for decades," she said. "This material has toxic chemicals, metals, and organic petrochemicals(石化产品)."

Matters have only been made worse by multiple oil spills caused by Katrina and Rita. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, 11 oil spills have occurred in southern Louisiana, totaling 7.4 million gallons (28 million liters) of oil, most of which has been contained.

Bacteria levels are also especially high in the Plaquemines sludge, said Rodney Mallett, spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.

"The sewage treatment plants were underwater," he explained. "Between the animal waste and the human waste, you've got a lot of bacteria."

Protection Kits

Health and environmental agencies are advising people to avoid contact with the sludge. They recommend that people wear gloves, goggles, and dust masks, and that they wash promptly if exposure occurs.

EPA officials are directing people to its Web site (www.epa.gov) to inform themselves of the contamination risks.

But most people returning to the area don't have computers to get that information, said Erik Olson, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group. "If you [do] read the Web site," he added, "you practically have to have a degree in chemistry to understand it."

To better inform people of health risks, the Southern Mutual Help Association and Oxfam America are developing a program to give every returning resident a protective kit.

Each kit would contain waterproof suits, goggles(风镜), shoe covers, and masks, along with information about potential hazards, Volunteers would give out the kits at the security checkpoints that now stand at the major entrances to affected cities.

The groups have made a hundred demonstration kits, which cost about $100 (U.S.) each to produce, and have shown them to state leaders in Louisiana.

"The governor is really in favor of this," Subra said. "We just have to determine how we're going to fund them."

Toxic Mold Blooms

In addition to the toxic sediment, sprawling blooms of mold have now taken hold in many flooded homes. "The mold is growing everywhere-homes are just coated with it," Subra said.

The problem has become so widespread that federal health officials warned Wednesday of allergic reactions and toxic responses to the mold. Professionals should be hired to clean mold that covers more than ten square feet (one square meter), they urged.

"Those [surfaces] that can't be cleaned need to be removed," said Steven Redd, chief of the Air Pollution and Respiratory Health Branch of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The effects of the mold are already surfacing in Mississippi, where respiratory(呼吸的) problems are among the illnesses doctors there are reporting.

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