Global warming could release radioactive waste stored in an abandoned Cold War-era U.S. military camp deep under Greenland's ice caps if a thaw continues to spread in coming decades, scientists said on Friday.
科學家們于周五表示，如果在未來幾十年內全球持續變暖，那么，在格陵蘭島冰蓋之下，一處被廢棄的冷戰時期美國軍營中所儲存的放射性廢料，將可能被釋放到自然環境中。
Camp Century was built in northwest Greenland in 1959 as part of U.S. research into the feasibility of nuclear missile launch sites in the Arctic, the University of Zurich said in a statement.
蘇黎世大學在一份聲明中表示，美國軍營 Camp Century 是1959年在格陵蘭島西北部修建的，該軍營是美國對于北極地區的核彈發射選址所做的可行性研究的一部分。
Staff left gallons of fuel and an unknown amount of low-level radioactive coolant there when the base shut down in 1967 on the assumption it would be entombed forever, according to the university.
根據蘇黎世大學的聲明，該營地于1967年被關閉、并根據規劃將被永久掩埋；工作人員在軍營中留下了大量的燃料，以及未知量的低輻射冷卻劑。
It is all currently about 35 meters (114.83 ft) down. But the part of the ice sheet covering the camp could start to melt by the end of the century on current trends, the scientists added.
科學家們表示，現在該營地處于冰蓋之下約35米深處。但是，在如今的全球變暖趨勢下，覆蓋營地的部分冰蓋到本世紀末，可能開始融化。
"Climate change could remobilize the abandoned hazardous waste believed to be buried forever beneath the Greenland ice sheet," the university said of findings published this week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
“氣候變化將使那些被廢棄的有害廢料重新發生移動，而這些廢料本應在格陵蘭冰蓋之下被永久埋藏。”蘇黎世大學談到本周在 Geophysical Research Letters 所發表的研究時表示。
The study, led by York University in Canada in collaboration with the University of Zurich, estimated that pollutants in the camp included 200,000 liters (44,000 UK gallons) of diesel fuel and the coolant from a nuclear generator used to produce power.
這項研究由加拿大約克大學主導，并與蘇黎世大學進行了合作。該研究估計，軍營中的污染物質包括20萬升柴油燃料，以及一臺核動力發電機所用的冷卻劑。
"It's a new breed of political challenge we have to think about," lead author William Colgan, a climate and glacier scientist at York University, said in a statement.
“這是我們必須考慮的一種新型政治挑戰。”該研究主要作者、約克大學氣候與冰川科學家 William Colgan 在一份聲明中表示。
"If the ice melts, the camp's infrastructure, including any remaining biological, chemical, and radioactive wastes, could re-enter the environment and potentially disrupt nearby ecosystems," the University of Zurich said.
“如果冰蓋融化，那么，該軍營的各種設施，包括任何遺留的生物、化學及放射性廢料，都將重新進入自然環境，并對周邊生態系統帶來潛在威脅。”蘇黎世大學表示。
The study said it would be extremely costly to try to remove any waste now. It recommended waiting "until the ice sheet has melted down to almost expose the wastes before beginning site remediation."
研究表示，任何嘗試移除廢料的行動都將非常艱難。研究建議有關方面進行等待，“直到冰蓋融化到即將使廢料暴露的程度，再開始進行該地區的修復。”
There was no immediate comment from U.S. authorities.
美國當局對此沒有立即發表評論。
