New research shows that some plastics may be leaching toxic chemicals into seawater.

    新研究表明有些塑料可能把有毒化学物渗入到海水。

    Plastic Not Fantastic… in the Ocean

    The Great Pacific Garbage Patch may be disappearing, and not in a good way. New research presented at the biannual meeting of the American Chemical Society reveals that polystyrene actually can break down in seawater.

    Polystyrene is better known as Styrofoam, wads of which can be found on seashores and floating out to sea. Most scientists assumed it would linger forever but apparently, when exposed to sunlight and rain, Styrofoam breaks down into its constituents, most notably three chemicals known to cause cancer.

    Japanese chemists found traces of these chemicals in samples of seawater from across the Pacific.

    They also found bisphenol A, or BPA, which is another chemical that leaches from some plastics. BPA has been linked to human health impacts, such as heart disease, as well as developmental and reproductive disorders in animals.

    Of course, these chemicals are diluted almost beyond detection by the vastness of the sea and not all plastics are exposed to strong sunlight or warm waters. But it's clear that the millions of tons of plastic pollution building up in the world's oceans are up to no good.

    在海洋中，塑料可不是什么好东西

    太平洋垃圾岛（Great Pacific Garbage Patch）可能会消失，不过其消失的方式并不那么环保。在美国化学学会（American Chemical Society）一年两度的会议上，一项新的研究显示聚苯乙烯实际上在海水中能降解。

    人们更多的时候称聚苯乙烯为泡沫塑料，你可以在海边发现大量的泡沫塑料，它们会被冲进大海中。多数的科学家认为泡沫塑料将会永远存在，但是很显然，当暴露在阳光下和雨水中，泡沫塑料分解成它的组成成分，值得注意的是，有三种化学成分能致癌。

    日本化学家在整个太平洋的海水样品中发现了恒量的这些致癌化学物质。他们也发现了双份A（简称BPA）,这是从塑料中渗出的另外一种化学物质。BPA能影响人类的健康，比如心脏病以及动物的发展和生殖疾病。

    当然，由于大量海水的稀释，要检测出这些化学物质几乎不可能，同时也不是所有的塑料都暴露于强光下和温水中。但是很显然海洋中大量塑料污染的堆积肯定不是什么好事。

    Vocabulary:

    Leach:过滤；渗入；

    Toxic:有毒的

    Biannual:一年两度的

    Fantastic:极好的

    Reveal: 揭示

    Polystyrene: （化学术语）聚苯乙烯

    Styrofoam: 泡沫塑料

    Wad:捆；沓；卷

    Linger:逗留

    Constituent:组成成分

    Trace:（化学术语）恒量

    Bisphenol:（化学术语）双酚A

    Developmental:发展的

    Reproductive:生殖的

    Dilute:稀释

    Detection:检测

    Vastness:巨大；大量