THE ENVIRONMENT
recorded were 155 micrograms per cubic metre of total suspended particulates and 71 micrograms per cubic metre of respirable suspended particulates, both above the objectives. Nitrogen dioxide is near its objective of 80 micrograms per cubic metre. Emissions from motor vehicles are the main source of these pollutants and strict new vehicle emission standards have been imposed to tackle an expected increase.
Transport is also a factor in noise, which is unavoidable in a vibrant metropolitan city like Hong Kong, packed with commercial and industrial activities. The ever increasing demand for transport has led to serious noise problems in areas close to major roads and rail transport corridors. Residents under the flight path and near Kai Tak Airport will be relieved from high levels of aircraft noise when the airport moves to Chek Lap Kok in 1997. The government has imposed new controls on noisy construction equipment to reduce the noise problem.
Urban sewerage in Hong Kong grew as the city did, without an overall strategy and is not adequate for present needs. There are many connections between foul sewerage and storm drains, and the Environmental Protection Department has estimated that only half the city's sewage, a million tonnes a day, gets any treatment before it flows into the sea.
The resulting load of water pollution has a very severe impact in confined areas such as typhoon shelters. In the worst of these, such as Kowloon Bay typhoon shelter beside Kai Tak airport, foul smelling and toxic gases arise from the polluted water. A major resewerage project in east Kowloon is now under construction. With the investment of over $500 million, this will bring substantial relief to the area by 1994.
Even in the open harbour, water quality is not good. The median concentration of dissolved oxygen, a good indicator of water quality, is close to fifty per cent saturation, the minimum level the water quality objectives allow. Phase I of the strategic sewage disposal scheme, for which detailed investigations are now in progress, will reduce harbour pollution.
With the community's growing expectations for a better environment, the need for a cost-effective, secure and environmentally acceptable waste management programme is apparent. Special categories of waste such as chemical and clinical wastes, decomposing carcasses and various types of sludge also need tighter control, not only on disposal but also storage, transport and treatment. The disposal arrangements must not add to air or water pollution.
Many firms produce chemical wastes. Disposal of these wastes to sewers can harm the fabric of sewers and the operation of sewage treatment plants and cause contamination of coastal waters. Controls on chemical waste, introduced in 1992, have already identified and registered some 9 000 chemical waste producers. The Waste Disposal (Chemical Waste) (General) Regulation requires cradle to grave tracking and controlled disposal of chemical waste in an environmentally acceptable manner.
The environment of new towns
To some extent, the territory's new towns face the same environmental problems as the old urban area. However they have been better planned. They tend to be more spacious, and are better provided with sewers and facilities for waste disposal.
One of the important features of new towns is that they intrude into what were rural areas, where water pollution in rivers, streams and the sea has become a problem. With the
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