中國海洋運輸污染重於陸地交通
Container ships from China laden with cargo for the rest of the world disperse more than toys, televisions and other exports. They are also a serious, often neglected, emitter of pollution from the cheap fuel allowed under Chinese rules, according to a new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council, a United States-based environmental advocacy group.
來自中國的集裝箱運貨船上滿載着運送到世界其他地方的貨物，但它們運輸的卻不只是玩具、電視機和其他出口物資。設在美國的環境倡導組織自然資源保護協會(Natural Resources Defense Council)的一篇新報告稱，這些船還是往往被忽視的嚴重污染源，因爲它們使用了中國規定所允許的廉價燃料。
Except when they approach and dock at ports that require cleaner fuel, such as in the United States or Europe, oceangoing ships plying trade through Chinese ports usually use cheap “bunker” oil, a grade of fuel that is heavy in sulfur and leaves a dense trail of fine soot, ozone and nitrogen- and sulfur-based pollutants, said the report, which was released on Tuesday.
週二發佈的報告表示，除了靠近或停靠在要求使用清潔燃料的港口時——比如美國或歐洲港口——在中國各港口從事貿易活動的海運船隻通常會使用廉價的燃料油。這種級別的燃料含有大量硫磺，會留下由微細煙塵、臭氧，以及氮硫污染物組成的明顯痕跡。“Regulation of air emissions from ships is virtually nonexistent today in China and the rest of the developing world,” the report said.
報告稱，“目前，中國幾乎沒有任何規定來管理船隻排放的空氣污染物，其他發展中國家也是如此。”
“With ships allowed to burn fuel with much higher sulfur levels than permitted in on-road diesel, one container ship cruising along the coast of China emits as much diesel fuel pollution as 500,000 new Chinese trucks in a single day,” an accompanying summary of the report said.
隨報告一同發佈的摘要稱，“由於與陸用柴油機相比，船用燃料的含硫量可以高很多，一艘沿中國海岸航行的貨船所排放的柴油污染物，相當於50萬輛新的中國卡車一天所排放的污染物。”Freda Fung, a consultant in Hong Kong who was one of the report’s four co-authors, said in an interview that the estimate referred to PM 2.5: the soup of small-particle pollution that hangs over many Chinese cities, causing breathing problems and public ire.
香港顧問馮淑慧(Freda Fung)是這篇報告的四名作者之一，她在採訪中說，上述估值指的是PM 2.5：由微細顆粒混合而成的污染物，它籠罩在許多中國城市上方，引起了呼吸問題和公衆的憤怒。The shipping pollution is a significant contributor to overall pollution and to poor health in some of China’s biggest cities, Ms. Fung said. China has seven of the world’s 10 busiest ports, with Shanghai at the top of the list, and about a quarter of the world’s container volume passes through the country’s 10 busiest ports, the report said. Other big port cities in China include Shenzhen, Qingdao and Tianjin, and nearly all of the port equipment uses diesel, also heavy in pollutants.
馮淑慧說，海運所產生污染物對整體污染情況造成了極大影響，也在一些中國大城市引起了健康問題。報告稱，世界上最繁忙的10個港口有7個都在中國，其中最繁忙的是上海；而且，世界總體貨運量中大約有四分之一都要經過中國最繁忙的10個港口。中國其他大型港口城市還包括深圳、青島和天津，而且幾乎所有的港口設備使用的都是柴油機，污染也很嚴重。“Since Chinese port cities are among the most densely populated with the busiest ports in the world,” the report said, “air pollution from ships and port activities likely contributes to much higher public health risks than are found in other port regions.”
“因爲中國港口城市是世界上人口密度最大，且港口最爲繁忙的城市，”報告稱，“所以與其他港口地區相比，這裏的船隻和港口活動所產生的污染物很可能會對公衆健康造成更大威脅。”The damage is difficult to quantify given the other sources of contaminants and the complexities of tracking health. But soot from bunker fuel and low-grade diesel exhaust tends to be especially harmful because it is so fine and carries dozens of chemical contaminants, some of which can travel through the air for many thousands of miles.
由於存在其他污染源，而且跟蹤健康狀況具有一定的複雜性，所以很難對損害進行量化。但是，燃料油所產生的煙塵和低級柴油機廢氣可能危害更大。這是因爲，它們的體積非常小，而且攜帶着數十種化學污染物，有些污染物能夠通過空氣到達數千英里以外。The result is “a toxic stew of cancer-causing diesel exhaust and black carbon that chronically plagues China’s growing port regions,” Barbara Finamore, the Asia director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in an email. One study cited in the report estimated that in 2008, air pollutants from ocean and river vessels had caused about 1,200 premature deaths in Hong Kong.
結果產生了“一種由可致癌柴油廢氣和黑碳組成的有毒混合物，長期盤踞在中國發展中的港口地區上空，”自然資源保護協會的亞洲項目主任芭芭拉·菲娜慕(Barbara Finamore)在電子郵件中說。據報告援引的一份研究估計，到2008年，來自航行在海洋與河流上的船隻的污染物就已經導致香港1200人過早死亡。Stricter standards in North America, especially California, and Western Europe mean that when ships approach and stop at ports there, they switch their engines to cleaner diesel that has much less sulfur, Ms. Fung said. The International Maritime Organization has also set fuel sulfur standards for seas off North America and parts of Europe.
馮淑慧說，北美——尤其是加州——和西歐的標準比較嚴格，也就是說，當船隻靠近或停靠在那裏的港口時，它們就要使用比較清潔的柴油來驅動引擎，這種燃料的含硫量要低很多。國際海事組織(International Maritime Organization)也爲北美和歐洲部分地區的海洋設定了燃料的含硫標準。But bunker oil is “the cheapest fuel, so whenever possible the ship operators prefer to use it, unless they’re required to use a different fuel,” Ms. Fung said.
但是，燃料油是“最廉價的燃料，所以只要有機會，船隻的運營者就會選擇它，除非有人要求他們使用別的燃料，”馮淑慧說。Stung by public alarm about pollution, China has introduced tougher fuel and vehicle standards on its roads. Ms. Fung said she hoped the same pressure would encourage the government to introduce more stringent rules for ships. Hong Kong, with its own distinctive laws and government, has used the incentive of reduced port fees to encourage ships stopping there to use cleaner fuel and was developing proposed mandatory restrictions, she said.
由於公衆對污染問題十分擔心，促使中國政府對路面交通採取了更嚴格的燃料和車輛標準。馮淑慧表示，她希望同樣的壓力將促使政府針對船隻出臺一些更嚴格的規定。她說，擁有獨立法律體系和政府的香港政府採取了減少港口使用費的激勵措施，以鼓勵停靠在那裏的船隻使用比較清潔的燃料，有關方面提出的強制性限制措施也在醞釀中。Shenzhen, the large port on mainland China near Hong Kong, has developed plans to discourage use of the dirtiest diesel by ships docking there, Ms. Fung said. But other mainland Chinese ports have been slower to act, and without concerted international action, ship operators are likely to keep switching their vessels to bunker fuel on the open seas after they leave regulated ports and waters, she said.
深圳是中國大陸的一個大型港口城市，靠近香港。馮淑慧稱，深圳已經推出了一些計劃，意圖阻止停靠在那裏的船隻使用污染最嚴重的柴油。她說，但是其他中國大陸港口的行動比較遲緩，而且如果沒有國際社會的一致行動，船隻運營者很可能就會在離開受管制的港口和水域後，在公海上使用燃料油。“If Shenzhen follows, eventually I hope there’ll be a chain reaction for the other major ports in China,” she said.
她說，“如果深圳也能這樣做，我希望中國的其他重要港口最終也會發生連鎖反應。”
