Lead deposits, which accumulated in soil and snow during the 1960’s and 70’s, were primarily the result of leaded gasoline emissions originating in the United States. In the twenty years that the Clean Air Act has mandated unleaded gas use in the United States, the lead accumulation worldwide has decreased significantly.
20世纪六七十年代积累在土壤和雪中的铅沉积物主要是美国含铅汽油排放的结果。在《清洁空气法》规定美国使用无铅汽油的20年里，全球铅的积累量大幅下降。
A study published recently in the journal Nature shows that air-borne leaded gas emissions from the United States were the leading contributor to the high concentration of lead in the snow in Greenland. The new study is a result of the continued research led by Dr. Charles Boutron, an expert on the impact of heavy metals on the environment at the National Center for Scientific Research in France. A study by Dr. Boutron published in 1991 showed that lead levels in arctic snow were declining.
最近发表在《自然》杂志上的一项研究表明，美国的空气含铅气体排放是导致格陵兰雪中铅浓度高的主要原因。这项新研究是法国国家科学研究中心重金属对环境影响专家Charles Boutron博士领导的持续研究的结果。Boutron博士1991年发表的一项研究表明，北极地区的雪中铅含量正在减少。
In his new study, Dr. Boutron found the ratios of the different forms of lead in the leaded gasoline used in the United States were different from the ratios of European, Asian and Canadian gasolines and thus enabled scientists to differentiate the lead sources. The dominant lead ratio found in Greenland snow matched that found in gasoline from the United States.
Boutron博士在他的新研究中发现，美国使用的含铅汽油中不同形式的铅的比例与欧洲、亚洲和加拿大汽油的比例不同，从而使科学家能够区分铅源。格陵兰雪中的主要铅含量与美国汽油中的铅含量相当。
In a study published in the journal Ambio, scientists found that lead levels in soil in the Northeastern United States had decreased markedly since the introduction of unleaded gasoline.
在《Ambio》杂志上发表的一项研究中，科学家们发现，自无铅汽油问世以来，美国东北部土壤中的铅含量显著下降。
Many scientists had believed that the lead would stay in soil and snow for a longer period.
许多科学家认为铅会在土壤和雪中停留更长的时间。
The authors of the Ambio study examined samples of the upper layers of soil taken from the same sites of 30 forest floors in New England, New York and Pennsylvania in 1980 and in 1990. The forest environment processed and redistributed the lead faster than the scientists had expected.
《Ambio》研究的作者检查了1980年和1990年从新英格兰、纽约和宾夕法尼亚州30个森林地面的同一地点采集的上层土壤样本。森林环境处理和重新分配铅的速度比科学家们预期的要快。
Scientists say both studies demonstrate that certain parts of the ecosystem respond rapidly to reductions in atmospheric pollution, but that these findings should not be used as a license to pollute.
科学家表示，这两项研究都表明，生态系统的某些部分对大气污染的减少反应迅速，但这些发现不应被用作污染的许可证。
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