【新闻摘要】
斯里兰卡海滩的"塑料雪灾"四年未消！2021年"X-Press珍珠号"货轮沉没不仅创造了史上最大塑料泄漏纪录，还给当地留下了一场"化学噩梦"。志愿者们至今仍在沙滩上筛捡剧毒塑料颗粒，而科学家发现这些"化学海绵"正在海底疯狂吸收重金属——从砒霜到铅汞应有尽有。渔民哭诉"从此再也捕不到鱼"，而船主和斯里兰卡政府还在为赔偿金额打官司。最讽刺的是，这艘载着硝酸的"毒船"当初被多国拒之门外，最终选择在斯里兰卡海域"自燃"。当地人说："我们就像被世界抛弃的垃圾桶"。
BBC uncovers lasting toxic legacy of cargo ship disaster off Sri Lanka
BBC揭露斯里兰卡货轮灾难的持久毒性遗产
Aerial footage shows the X-Press Pearl breaking up and sinking
航拍画面显示X-Press珍珠号货轮解体沉没
Four years after a stricken cargo ship caused the largest plastic spill ever recorded, volunteers on Sri Lanka's beaches are still sifting kilograms of tiny, toxic plastic pellets from the sand.
一艘遇险货轮造成有记录以来最大塑料泄漏四年后，斯里兰卡海滩志愿者仍在筛捡成公斤的有毒塑料颗粒
Billions of plastic nurdles, as they are called, are thought to have washed up after the X-Press Pearl disaster in 2021, along with tonnes of engine fuel, acid, caustic soda, lead, copper slag, lithium batteries and epoxy resin - all toxic to aquatic life.
2021年X-Press珍珠号事故后，数十亿塑料颗粒与数吨燃油、酸液、烧碱、铅、铜渣、锂电池和环氧树脂一同涌入海洋（均对水生生物有毒）
The immediate damage was obvious: the nurdles inundated the shoreline, turning it white, while dead turtles, dolphins and fish began washing up.
直接损害显而易见：塑料颗粒淹没海岸线使其变白，海龟、海豚和鱼类尸体开始被冲上岸
But scientists are now flagging fears the damage to the environment could be much more enduring than previously thought.
但科学家警告环境损害可能比预期更持久
AFP via Getty Images Sri Lankan Navy soldiers work to remove nurdles and other debris on a beach in Colombo after the X-Press Pearl disaster. Photo: May 2021
法新社/Getty Images：2021年5月斯里兰卡海军在科伦坡海滩清理塑料颗粒
So far, hundreds of millions of nurdles may have been cleared away - but the remaining, lentil-sized microplastic granules have become increasingly difficult to find as they disappear deeper into the sand.
迄今或已清理数亿颗粒，但残存的扁豆大小微塑料颗粒随沙层加深愈发难觅
Worse, those pieces of plastic now appear to be becoming even more toxic, new research suggests.
更糟的是新研究表明这些塑料正变得更具毒性
"They seem to be accumulating pollution from the ocean," said David Megson, of Manchester Metropolitan University."Like a lovely big chemical sponge."
曼彻斯特城市大学专家称"它们像化学海绵般不断吸收海洋污染物"
Nurdles are the raw materials that are melted to make plastic products and it is not unusual for large amounts to be transported in the global plastic supply chain.
塑料颗粒是制造塑料产品的原料，在全球供应链中大量运输很常见
The problems onboard the X-Press Pearl started soon after setting sail from Dubai Port bound for Port Klang in Malaysia, when the crew noticed that a container carrying nitric acid was leaking, corroding the metal box.
X-Press珍珠号从迪拜驶往马来西亚巴生港途中，船员发现装载硝酸的集装箱泄漏腐蚀箱体
But they were denied permission to unload the smoking, leaking container at ports in Qatar and India.
但卡塔尔和印度港口均拒绝其卸载冒烟泄漏的集装箱
The container had been leaking acid at a rate of about a litre an hour for at least eight days when it sailed into Sri Lankan waters late at night on 19 May 2021.
2021年5月19日深夜进入斯里兰卡海域时，该集装箱已以每小时1升速度泄漏至少8天
It had requested emergency berthing - but by the morning the Singapore-flagged vessel was alight.
尽管请求紧急停泊，但这艘新加坡籍货轮次日清晨起火
Despite firefighting efforts from the crew, the Sri Lankan authorities and salvors, the fire spread throughout the ship.
尽管船员、斯里兰卡当局和打捞人员全力灭火，火势仍蔓延全船
Two weeks later, it sank, spilling its cargo and fuel into the sea around nine nautical miles off the country's south-west coast, between the capital Colombo and Negombo to the north.
两周后货轮沉没，在科伦坡与尼甘布之间海域泄漏货物和燃油
Muditha Katuwawala shows tiny nurdles collected from a beach in Sri Lanka
环保人士展示从斯里兰卡海滩收集的塑料颗粒
What happened next"was just like out of a war movie", says Muditha Katuwawala, an environmentalist and founder of the Pearl Protectors, a local NGO that volunteered to help the clean-up operation, which was run largely by Sri Lankan state authorities with funding from the ship's owners.
当地环保组织创始人形容后续场景"如同战争电影"
"We started seeing turtles getting washed up with similar sorts of traits... the skin had burn marks [and] was peeling off. The nose and eyes were red and puffed up, and we saw dolphins washing up and... their skin was peeling off and red," Mr Katuwawala said.
"被冲上岸的海龟皮肤灼伤剥落，眼睛鼻子红肿，海豚也出现类似症状"
The nurdles on the beaches were"like snow," he says, adding that"it was horrifying".
海滩上的塑料颗粒"如同雪灾"，场景"触目惊心"
The clean-up began in earnest. At the start, Mr Katuwawala and his fellow volunteers"were collecting like 300-400 kilos of nurdles" each day.
清理初期志愿者每日收集300-400公斤塑料颗粒
Over time, it dropped to three to four kilograms in a couple of hours.
后来数小时仅能收集3-4公斤
"The nurdles were getting more dispersed, it was harder to see them as they got buried in the sand over time."
随着颗粒在沙中越埋越深，清理效率大幅降低
It was decided the cost-benefit ratio was no longer worth the effort of mobilising volunteers.
最终认为动员志愿者的成本效益比不再合理
The groups stood down, leaving the task to state-organised local clean-up groups.
民间组织退出后，清理工作交由政府组织的当地团队
At the same time, scientists were getting concerned about the possibility the plastic pellets - already harmful to animals which eat them accidentally - may be getting more toxic, contaminated from the spill, or from other pollution sources.
科学家担忧塑料颗粒（本就会被动物误食）可能因泄漏或其他污染源变得更毒
Over the ensuing years, they have collected samples which could help trace the effect over time.
多年来收集的样本有助于追踪长期影响
The most heavily contaminated nurdles are those burnt in the fire, forensic chemists say
法医化学家指出燃烧过的塑料颗粒污染最严重
In November 2024, the BBC and Watershed Investigations sent more than 20 of those samples to a team of forensic chemists specialising in environmental pollution from Manchester Metropolitan University.
2024年11月BBC将20余份样本送交曼彻斯特城市大学环境污染物专家团队
They found the most heavily contaminated nurdles were those burnt in the fire, which leach metals toxic to aquatic life, like arsenic, lead, cadmium, copper, cobalt and nickel.
燃烧过的颗粒会析出砷、铅、镉等对水生生物有毒的金属
The team also found the pellets"still going round appear to be sucking up more pollution from the environment" and were becoming"more toxic", according to Mr Megson.
颗粒"仍在持续吸收环境中污染物"并变得"更具毒性"
"They will be ingested [and] will pass pollution on to marine organisms," he says.
这些颗粒被海洋生物摄入后将传递污染物
Tests carried out on fish caught near the site of the disaster - as well as the nearby Negombo lagoon - found some contained the same pollutants that were present in the ship's cargo and on the nurdles.
灾变海域及尼甘布礁湖捕获的鱼类体内检出与货轮货物相同的污染物
Some of the fish contained levels of hazardous metals - some of which were found in the disaster - which exceeded safe limits.
部分鱼类体内危险金属含量超出安全标准
Researchers say the disaster cannot be discounted as the source of contamination, although it also can't be directly proven to be the source, as it's not known if these fish ate nurdles, how many they ingested, or if the pollution came from other sources.
研究者表示虽无法直接证明污染源，但不能排除货轮事故的关联性
"But placed on top of everything else that is in that system, there's a really good likelihood that it's causing harm to the environment and also potentially harm to people and humans that are eating and relying on that marine ecosystem for a source of their food," Mr Megson adds.
"综合所有因素，很可能对环境和依赖海洋生态系统获取食物的人类造成伤害"
Local fishermen do draw the link to the disaster."There's no fish since then. We've never had the same amount of fish that we used to catch," fisherman Jude Sulanta explains.
渔民直指灾难影响："此后鱼获锐减，再未恢复从前水平"
"Our lives have turned upside down. From the stretch where the ship sank up until here you don't get many new, young fish at all."
"生活天翻地覆，沉船区域至今几乎看不到幼鱼"
The ship's owner, X-Press Feeders Ltd, says to date it has worked diligently to ensure the best response to the disaster and spent more than $130m (£96m) to remove the wreck and debris at sea.
船主公司称已投入超1.3亿美元清除残骸和碎片
It says it has also paid more than $20m to the Sri Lankan government for clean-up operations on the coast and to compensate fishermen.
另支付2000万美元用于海岸清理和渔民补偿
It says, however, that the Sri Lankan government has assumed responsibility for all shoreside clean-up activities and it is disappointed by the delays in that process and the ongoing impacts this is having.
但表示对斯里兰卡政府负责的岸上清理进度延迟及持续影响感到失望
The Sri Lankan government says the amount paid by the ship's owner - which was capped by an interim UK maritime court order - is not enough to cover the long-term damage, and it is pursuing legal action to overturn the cap and secure further compensation.
斯里兰卡政府称英国海事法庭裁定的赔偿金额不足以弥补长期损害，正寻求法律途径推翻限额
On Thursday, Sri Lanka's Supreme Court ordered the company to pay $1bn as an initial payment to cover long-term economic and environmental damage it says the country suffered as a result of the disaster - but the cap remains in place.
斯里兰卡最高法院裁定船主需支付10亿美元初步赔偿，但赔偿上限仍未解除
The Supreme Court doesn't have jurisdiction over Singapore, where X-Press Feeders Ltd has its headquarters.
最高法院对总部设在新加坡的船主公司无管辖权
X-Press Feeders said it was extremely disappointed with the judgment and that they are reviewing it with their legal advisers, insurers and other relevant stakeholders to best assess their next course of action.
船主公司表示对判决极度失望，正与法律顾问评估后续行动
Prof Prashanthi Guneeardena - an environmental economist at University of Sri Jayawardenapura who chaired an expert committee of scientists to assess the damage - puts the cost of the disaster at closer to more than $6bn, taking into account things like the loss of wildlife, as well as impact on tourism, fishing and harm to local residents from the toxic cloud released when the ship burned.
环境经济学家评估包括野生动物损失、旅游业影响、渔业损失和有毒烟雾危害在内的总损失超60亿美元
"Large quantities of dioxin and furan have been added to the atmosphere and these are carcinogens. And then we have calculated it may kill about 70 people in our country," says Prof Guneeardena.
"货轮燃烧释放大量致癌物质二恶英和呋喃，或导致70人死亡"
The ship owner rejects this assessment. It quotes the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF), an organisation which is funded by the shipping industry to assess marine spills.
船主引用国际油轮船东防污联盟报告反驳，称评估"缺乏科学依据"
It says the report was"unparticularised, inaccurate, and lacked credible scientific basis".
船主坚称船员"遵循国际标准处理酸泄漏事故"
The ship owner has also said itself and its crew have"followed the internationally accepted procedures in dealing with the acid leak, while maintaining all safety and emergency protocols".
科伦坡港务局否认责任，称货轮进入水域前不知晓问题
Colombo Port Authority has also denied any responsibility, saying it did not know of the issues until the ship arrived in its waters.
渔民苏兰塔表示许多人正变卖船只试图出国谋生
Jude Sulanta says many local fishermen are now selling their boats and trying to go abroad
"我儿子也在考虑离开——如果会有正义，早就该来了"
The sea is the lifeblood of this island nation. Its stunning golden coasts are a huge draw for tourists, and for generations fishing has fed the country.
海洋是这个岛国的命脉，金色海岸吸引游客，渔业世代养育国民
But Mr Sulanta, the fisherman, is worried that his way of life no longer has a future.
但渔民苏兰塔担忧传统生计已无未来
"Many are selling their boats and trying to go abroad. And many people are fed up. In fact, my son himself, he's working with me at the moment. He's also a fisherman.
"许多人变卖渔船尝试出国，我儿子虽仍在捕鱼，也在考虑离开"
"But he's also considering leaving the country. It's already been several years. If we were going to get justice we would have had it by now," he says.
"数年过去，若有正义早该降临"
You can listen to the BBC documentary Sri Lanka: The X Press Pearl disaster https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct6rbp
收听BBC纪录片《斯里兰卡：X-Press珍珠号灾难》
