Fire Stations could also form collection points for air-sample media and grass samples, etc., prior to their transmission to the King's Park Radiation Laboratory, or other predetermined laboratories. Fire Stations in suitable locations may be identified for this purpose to give a network of collection points covering Hong Kong and maps showing their locations should be available to the CCC, the MAC, and all sampling and monitoring teams.
12.5 The Civil Aid Services
In the event of an emergency, the Civil Aid Services Regional Headquarters and sub-units should be manned. They should assist the police in providing information to the public, and assistance to the public in the event.of sheltering being advised.
The Civil Aid Services could provide assistance to monitoring teams in transporting samples from collection points (probably Fire Stations) to the Radiation Laboratory at King's Park, or other laboratories.
In general, the Civil Aid Services would undertake any other duties which the Civil Control Centre, in liaison with the Civil Aid Commissioner, may direct. If necessary, such duties could include assistance to other departments in such activities as the distribution of food and crowd control.
12.6 The Transport Department
The Transport Department should keep in close communication with the Civil Control Centre in the event of an emergency. Should sheltering of the public in some areas be required, arrangements must be made with all transport undertakings to organise services so that risk to the public is minimised. It should, however, always be borne in mind that a requirement to shelter is highly unlikely, and a requirement to shelter in areas other than those in the north-eastern region close to the border is extremely unlikely.
If immediate sheltering is advised in any area it will be necessary for trains, buses, etc., in transit in that area to complete their journeys but thereafter services should be curtailed and prospective passengers advised to find shelter locally.
Consideration should be given to the following:
(a) the means of communications with the various transport services in the event of an emergency, (in general
such means of communication are already in existence);
(b)
the means of communication by transport services to their staff and vehicles in the event that there should be a requirement to implement sheltering;
(
the arrangements which can be made for sheltering in different conditions as outlined in Section 12.2;
(d)
the time which will be needed to complete implementation of sheltering at different times of day should be estimated;
(e)
the resumption of normal services when restrictions are lifted.
12.7 Water Supplies Department
The responsibilities of the Water Supplies Department are described in Chapter 9. It should be noted that whilst monitoring of supplies in the event of a radioactive release is essential, the possibility of activity in drinking water reaching levels at which action would be required is remote.
80