Many Mongolians repurpose plastic containers to store food. This simple act can have lethal consequences.
許多蒙古人重新利用塑膠容器，來儲存食物。這種單純行為可能具有致命後果。
圖1. Otgonbayar Ivanov使用車床將木頭雕鑿成碗。他避免使用會具有毒素的塑膠容器。 (圖援用自原文)
Otgonbayar Ivanov enters his workshop with a smile, cradling a burl of wood from the nearby forest. The 50-year-old was once a cattle herder. But since 2019 he has focused on transforming knotted wood like this into plates, utensils and storage containers, which he uses and sells.
抱著一塊來自附近森林之樹瘤木頭、帶著微笑走進工作室的Otgonbayar Ivanov。年紀50歲，曾經是名牧牛人。不過，打從2019以來，他一直專注於，將類似這樣的多瘤木頭改變成，供其使用及銷售的盤子、器皿及儲存容器。
He began creating items from wood to avoid using plastic containers, many of which are not safe for food storage. “The use of plastic containers is out of control,” he says.
他開始用木頭製作物品，以避免使用塑膠容器。就儲存食物而言，其中諸多是不安全的。他宣稱：「塑膠容器的使用是失控的。」
In Mongolia, families and individuals often reuse plastic containers that once held oil, pesticides or other toxic chemicals. Because these containers are inexpensive and widely available, they have become convenient storage for water, milk and food.
在蒙古，家庭及個人經常重複使用，曾經盛裝石油、殺蟲劑或其他有毒化學品的塑膠容器。由於這些容器價格低廉且可資廣泛使用，它們已成為水、牛奶及食物的方便儲存器。
A 2015 survey of nearly 300 households, conducted by Mongolia’s Toxicology Research Association and published on the website of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, found 90% of respondents used between three and four unsafe plastic containers to store food.
一項由蒙古毒物學研究協會，於2015年，對將近300戶家庭所進行，且發表於食品、農業暨輕工業部網站的調查，發現受調查戶90%使用了，三到四個不安全的塑膠容器，來儲存食物。
These containers may contain hazardous chemicals such as lead, formaldehyde and bisphenol A, which can leach into water, milk and food and accumulate in the human body, according to the ministry, leading to cancer and other medical conditions.
根據該部的說法，此些容器可能具有，會滲入水、牛奶及食物中，並積聚於人體內，而導致癌症與其他疾病的鉛、甲醛及雙酚A等，有害化學物質。
“Daily consumption of water containing these hazardous chemicals increases the risk of suffering from cancer,” says Unursaikhan Surenjav, a professor of chemistry and secretary of the National Center for Public Health.
化學教授兼蒙古國家公共衛生中心秘書的Unursaikhan Surenjav宣稱：「每日飲用具此些有害化學物質的水，會增加罹患癌症的風險。」
Otgonbayar’s desire to stop using non-food safe containers stems from personal experience: His brother-in-law died of stomach cancer in 2008. “He was a driver and used plastic containers of motor oil after cleaning them thoroughly inside and out,” Otgonbayar says. “I think his suffering from stomach cancer was caused by the harm of plastic containers.”
Otgonbayar停止使用非食品安全容器的願望，源自於個人經驗：於2008年，她的姐夫死於胃癌。Otgonbayar宣稱：「他是一名司機，使用了在裡裡、外外徹底清潔過後的機油塑膠容器。我認為，他罹患胃癌是由塑膠容器的危害所造成。」
Until recently, Mongolia lacked an organized way to dispose of hazardous waste. In 2018, the Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism began issuing licenses for the collection, storage, transportation, recycling and disposal of hazardous materials, including plastic containers.
直到最近，蒙古還缺乏一種，處理危險廢物的有組織方式。於2018年，自然、環境暨光觀部開始頒發，收集、儲存、運輸、回收利用及處置危險材料(包括塑膠容器)的許可證。
There are now 14 entities operating nationwide to recycle hazardous materials, two of which are recycling plants that handle hazardous plastic containers, says Oyun Adiya, an expert at the ministry’s Environment and Natural Resources Management Department.
該部所屬環境暨自然資源管理局的專家，Oyun Adiya表示，目前全國有14個回收利用危險材料的運作實體，其中兩個是處理危險塑膠容器的回收利用廠。
The government hopes to increase recycling capacity in the coming years, with a goal to reduce the amount of hazardous waste dumped into the environment by 40% by 2030.
該政府期盼，於未來幾年，提高回收利用的能力。目標是到2030年，將傾倒到環境中的危險廢物數量，減少達40%。
But even now, the recycling plants that handle hazardous plastic containers are not operating at full capacity. Darambazar Batdorj, the head of one of the plants, says his facility is operating at only 50% capacity and is running out of material to recycle, because companies have not been delivering their waste to them.
不過即使現在，處理危險塑膠容器的回收利用廠，也並非滿載量運作中。此些回收廠之一的廠長，Darambazar Batdorj表示，其設備僅以50%的產能運作，且正在耗盡回收利用的材料。因為，諸多公司一直沒有將其廢棄物運送給他們。
The Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism requires companies to send hazardous plastic containers to the recycling plants, but they must pay a fee to do so. To avoid this added cost, many companies end up giving or selling them to the public.
自然、環境暨光觀部要求，公司將危險的塑膠容器送到回收利用廠。不過，必須為此付費。為了避免這種增加的成本，許多公司最後將它們給予或出售給大眾。
The containers are light, durable, easily available and inexpensive, making them attractive to Mongolians who aren’t aware of the health risks.“Our citizens keep accepting plastic containers,” Unursaikhan says, “because they do not know about their harm and impact very well.”
此些容器質輕、耐用、容易獲得且價格低廉。這使得它們，對沒意識到健康風險的蒙古人，具有吸引力。Unursaikhan宣稱：「我們的國民繼續接受塑膠容器。因為，他們不太瞭解它們的危害及影響。」
Officials have sought to raise awareness. The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, together with other government agencies, launched a national program in 2017 to reduce the use of chemically hazardous containers and packages for household purposes.
官員們一直試圖提高認知。食品、農業暨輕工業部連同其他政府機構，於2017年發起了一項，減少供家庭使用、化學上危險之容器及包裝物的國家計劃。
The program included a media campaign about the adverse health effects of repurposed plastic containers, says Tungalag Davaa, a senior specialist at the ministry’s Food Production Policy Implementation and Coordination Department.
該部所屬食品生產政策實施暨協調局的資深專家，Tungalag Davaa表示，該計劃包括一項，有關重新利用塑膠容器，對健康之不利影響的媒體宣傳活動。
Cafeterias in general education schools in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital, have stopped using non-food safe containers, as have state schools, kindergartens and hospitals in 10 provinces.
於蒙古首都烏蘭巴托，普通教育學校的食堂，已經停止使用非食品安全容器。10個省有公立學校、幼兒園及醫院一樣停止使用。
Yet plastic containers that contain toxic chemicals are still widely used. Tungalag says that the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry has proposed a trade-in program for citizens to replace non-food safe containers with government-subsidized food storage options. But funding for the initiative hasn’t been approved.
不過，具有有毒化學物質的塑膠容器，仍然被廣泛使用。Tungalag表示，食品、農業暨輕工業部提出了一項，以諸多政府補貼之食品儲存選項，來供國民取代非食品安全容器的折價貼換交易。不過，該項計劃的資金尚未獲得批准。
It’s not enough to inform citizens of the health risks associated with non-food safe containers — it’s also necessary to replace these containers, Tungalag says. The government can mandate changes to schools and other government entities, but it’s not so simple to demand the same from individuals.
Tungalag表示，僅告知國民與非食品安全容器相關的健康風險是不夠的，還需要替換此些容器。政府能對學校及其他政府實體要求改變，不過要求個人做出同樣改變，沒那麼簡單。
“Families with low incomes make choices out of economic reasons instead of considering health,” Tungalag says. Oyunaa Chimed has fetched drinking water in an old oil container for the past 10 years.
Tungalag宣稱：「低收入家庭出於經濟原因做出選擇，而不是考慮健康。」在過去10年裡，Oyunaa Chimed一直以一個舊的石油容器，來取得飲用水。
“I heard about the harms and effects of this container on television, which said that even if it did not cause diseases today, it would do so after five or 10 years,” Oyunaa says. “Nevertheless, food-safe plastic containers are expensive.”
Oyunaa宣稱：「在電視上，我聽到有關這種容器的危害及影響。電視表示，即使目前沒有引發疾病，其在五到十年後也會引起。不過，食品安全的塑膠容器是昂貴的。」
網址：https://globalpressjournal.com/asia/mongolia/toxic-chemicals-hide-popular-food-containers/
翻譯：許東榮
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