THE ENVIRONMENT
217
Control units are also being created or strengthened in several government departments to enforce legislation, issue licences and provide surveillance and control for individual discharges or emissions. Their responsibility will be to ensure that the level of pollutants in any area does not result in a breach of quality objectives specified for that area.
The strategy for environmental protection is to ensure that projects which could be potential sources of pollution incorporate adequate control measures at the initial stages. Developers must submit detailed environmental impact assessments to the government, as in the case of the new power stations at Tap Shek Kok and on Lamma Island where reports are made on aqueous and aerial emissions, and the visual impact on the stations were among the assessments examined.
Environmental studies of development areas, such as Junk Bay, which will provide industrial and residential land on the eastern side of Kowloon, also ensure environmental protection. These studies involve data gathering, measurement and analysis in order to determine the capacity of the Junk Bay environment to absorb or disperse polluting emissions and, on that basis, to establish control strategies for such emissions from the expected development.
Air Pollution
The Air Pollution Control Division of the Labour Department administers the Clean Air Ordinance, the Clean Air (Furnaces, Ovens and Chimneys) (Installation and Alteration) Regulations, and the Clean Air (Restriction and Measurement of Smoke Emission) Regulations. The division is responsible for the control of smoke, grit and dust from stationary sources such as fuel-using plants.
Plans and specifications for the installation or alteration of furnaces, ovens, chimneys or flues are submitted to the division to ensure that the design is up to appropriate standards. It organises inspections, investigates complaints, gives technical advice to industry and takes legal action against persistent offenders.
During the year the division processed 376 sets of plans and specifications which were submitted for approval under the Clean Air (Furnaces, Ovens and Chimneys) (Installation and Alteration) Regulations. It inspected 7271 premises and advised industry on air pollution control matters. It also advised on the design of small scale incinerators for use in the New Territories.
The division also investigated 1 108 air pollution complaints, the majority of which were satisfactorily resolved while in some cases further examinations were required. Some 117 prosecutions were initiated under the Clean Air Ordinance and its subsidiary regulations, 15 for failure to abate smoke nuisances, 64 for emitting excessive dark smoke, one for failure to furnish information and 37 for unauthorised installation of furnaces, ovens or chimneys, resulting in 117 convictions and fines ranging from $500 to $2,000.
The division assisted in carrying out a stack sampling exercise on the normal operation of the Kwai Chung Incinerator. Subsequent analysis of the heavy metals in the incinerator fly ash was undertaken by the Government Laboratory. The acidity of flue gases was also measured for the purpose of studying its corrosive effect on the electrostatic precipitator installed in the plant. Grit and dust burden of the chimney emission was also determined. This exercise was co-ordinated by the Air Quality Group of the EPA. Other stack sampling exercises were also performed, including a project for determining the efficiency of acid mist scrubbing equipment in acid works in the New Territories. During the year a contract was let for a trial installation of an electrostatic precipitator at the Kennedy Town Incinerator in an endeavour to reduce emissions from that source.