火箭弹射手头部损伤引注意

For the first time, the U.S. military is speaking publicly about what it's doing to address potential health risks to troops who operate certain powerful shoulder-mounted weapons.

美国军方首次公开宣布了关于他们为减少操作肩扛式重型武器军人的安全而采取的措施。

These bazooka-like weapons produce forceful explosions just inches from the operator's head.

这些火箭筒样的武器会在操作者头部仅几英寸的地方产生强烈爆炸。

Though several scientific reports over the past year have noted the possible risk, until now military officials have been reluctant to speak publicly about whether repeated exposure to these blasts might result in injury to a shooter's brain.

尽管过去的几年里就已经有几项科学报道注意到了潜在的危险，直到今天军方官员还是不太愿意公布不断暴露在这样重复性的爆炸中是否会导致发射员的头部损伤。

Tracie Lattimore, who directs the Army's traumatic brain injury program, agreed to an interview  to talk about steps the military is taking.

特雷西.拉蒂摩尔，是军方的脑部创伤性损伤项目的带头人，同意接受采访来谈谈军方正采取的措施。

"We are leaning in and trying to do everything in our power to protect soldiers and service members while they continue to get their job done," says Lattimore, who works in the Office of the Army Surgeon General.

“我们正在学习，并尽我们的全力去改进来保护这些士兵和操作员，而他们仍在继续完成任务，”拉蒂摩尔说，她在军医处处长办公室工作。

She describes a wide-ranging effort that's already begun and includes scientific research on troops' exposure to blast during weapons training, enforcing limits on the firing of certain weapons, and even looking into whether special helmets could help stop blast waves.

她描述了一系列已经开展的努力工作，包括对部队在武器训练时暴露于爆炸中的科学研究，增强对某些武器的发射的限制，还甚至研究了是否特殊的头盔能够帮助防止冲击波。

The Army also has plans to monitor service members' total blast exposure during their military careers, Lattimore says.

军方还计划对服役人员的军事生涯中的总体爆炸曝露进行检测，拉蒂摩尔说。

And even as the Army starts to take preventive measures, some basic questions still need answers.

而尽管军方开始采取预防措施，仍有一些很基本的问题等待解决。

"Is blast exposure hurting service members or soldiers?" she says.

“曝露于爆炸是否会伤害服役人员或者士兵呢？”她说。

"And if it is, what are those thresholds — and how can we home in on those? And then how can we modify our equipment or the way we operate to prevent injury?"

“如果会的话，阈值是多少——我们如何来保障安全呢？我们又该如何改进武器或者操作方式来防止损伤呢？”

Blast exposure became a big issue for the military during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where roadside bombs posed a major threat to U.S. troops.

爆炸曝露在伊拉克战争和阿富汗战争期间成为了热门议题，在那里路边炸弹是美国军方的主要威胁。

The military realized that the blast from one of these bombs could cause a traumatic brain injury even if it didn't leave a scratch on a service member's body.

军方意识到这些炸弹中的爆炸可能会导致大脑创伤后损伤，即使它并没有给服役人员的身体上留下伤痕。

"We were totally concerned about the enemy weapon and the impact of the enemy weapon on our soldiers," Lattimore says.

“我们非常担心敌人的武器和它们对我们的士兵造成的损伤，”拉蒂摩尔说。

Now, she says, military officials are turning their attention to the explosions from weapons fired by U.S. forces.

如今，她又说道，军方官员正将注意力转向美国军队自己发射的武器的爆炸上。

These weapons include the AT4 and Carl Gustaf, both of which fire rounds that weigh several pounds and are powerful enough to take out a tank.

这些武器包括AT4和卡尔.古斯塔夫火箭筒，它们发射的炮弹都重达数磅，威力足以摧毁坦克。

The blast from firing these weapons contains as much energy as the blast from a small bomb.

发射这些武器时的爆冲包含的能量相当于一枚小型炸弹。

The risk to a person's brain comes from an invisible pressure wave generated by an explosive blast.

发射人员脑部的风险来自于由爆冲产生的看不见的压力波。

This blast wave travels faster than the speed of sound as it passes through a person's skull.

这些冲击波会以比声音更快的速度通过发射员的头骨。

And scientists have shown that if the wave is strong enough, it can damage brain tissue.

科学研究表明如果冲击波足够强，就会对脑组织产生损伤。

Gunners say each blast feels like a punch to the face.

枪手们说每一次爆冲就感觉像脸上挨了一拳。

And studies by the military show that service members who fire these weapons a lot can experience headaches, temporary memory loss, and other symptoms like those of a concussion.

而军方研究表明经常发射这些武器的服役人员会感觉头痛，暂时性的失忆以及其他类似脑震荡的症状。

But Lattimore cautions that the mission of the Armed Forces hasn't changed.

不过拉蒂摩尔警示说军队的任务还是没有改变。

So even though there's a desire to be "maximally protective," she says, "the military has a job to do in terms of preparing for war and going to war, and that is an inherently risky business."

所以虽然他们很渴望“最大化的保护”，她说，“军方在备战和打仗时还是要继续完成工作，而这本来就是极具风险的工作。”

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