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THE ENVIRONMENT
development. With the assistance of the departments concerned and specialist con- sultants, pollution control measures were prepared for a proposed petrochemical plant and were being prepared for a possible oil refinery and petrochemical complex. But to deal with the overall problem of pollution one of the most important tasks tackled by the Environment Branch was the introduction of comprehensive environ- mental legislation and the means to provide effective control.
Regulations were enacted under the Clean Air Ordinance requiring owners of premises to submit plans of all new or proposed modifications of existing furnaces and chimneys. They set standards to ensure the most effective combustion of fossil fuels.
Results of aerial monitoring carried out by the air pollution control unit of the Labour Department continued to show a significant reduction in sulphur dioxide concentration for 1974. At Hung Hom, the level of sulphur dioxide was only about one twelfth of the maximum permitted level of 50 parts per hundred million set by the former Advisory Committee on Air Pollution. Readings at the station at Queen Elizabeth Hospital dropped to about three parts per hundred million, while readings in the Sham Shui Po and Central Market were about two parts per hundred million.
Although the unit relies more on constructive advice than stringent enforcement, it is still sometimes necessary to initiate prosecutions under the Clean Air Ordinance and the Clean Air (Furnaces, Ovens and Chimneys) (Installation and Alteration) Regulations 1972 against persistent offenders. During the year it was necessary to prosecute 60 cases under the ordinance and subsidiary regulations, with fines ranging from $50 to $4,100.
During the year, the final steps were taken in the government's programme to bring all of Hong Kong under smoke control legislation. In April, the Cheung Sha Wan and Sham Shui Po districts were declared smoke control areas. Yuen Long- Tuen Mun followed in September, and Hong Kong Island - Ap Lei Chau were included in October. In December, the remaining areas of Kowloon and the New Territories were gazetted, bringing all land area of Hong Kong under smoke control legislation.
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The Agriculture and Fisheries Department obtained the services of a consultant to advise on methods of tackling pollution problems caused by agricultural wastes. The consultant, Professor Peter C. G. Isaac of Newcastle University was sent to Hong Kong under the auspices of the World Health Organisation and he made the first of three visits in February.
An agricultural waste treatment unit was being set up in the Agriculture and Fisheries Department to carry out this work. Early efforts will be directed towards reducing the pollution of stream courses in the New Territories caused by pig and poultry manure which in many areas were so grossly polluted that they could not be used for irrigation purposes. A poultry manure drier was purchased and installed, and a pilot scheme set up to collect wet poultry manure and dry it to an inoffensive granular product which can be used as an animal feedstuff or as a fertiliser. The problems caused by pig manure are considerably aggravated by the practice of hosing