THE ENVIRONMENT
licence conditions require a sound operation employing fully-trained and skilled staff, and proper equipment and vehicles.
A chemical waste treatment centre, which is run by a government contractor, is the main licensed disposal facility and collector for chemical waste generated in Hong Kong. Its operator provides a fleet of vehicles for the collection of waste from the waste producers.
In addition to liquid and solid wastes, many factories and commercial enterprises produce air-borne emissions. The Environmental Protection Department operates controls under the Air Pollution Control Ordinance. Subsidiary regulations under the ordinance provide specific controls on furnaces and chimneys, dark smoke emissions, fuel composition and specified processes. Regulations will be enacted to ban the open burning of waste materials and to reduce dust emissions from construction works in 1995.
The installation and alteration of furnaces, ovens and chimneys need prior approval from the department. This commonly affects industrial furnaces, restaurant stoves and chimneys serving emergency generators. During the year, the department processed 630 applications. Nuisance and environmental problems caused by dark smoke emissions, which com- monly result from poor maintenance or incorrect operation of fuel burners, arouse great public concern, especially when factories are near homes. The Air Pollution Control (Smoke) Regulations provide controls over dark smoke emission, limiting the darkness of smoke to Ringelmann shade number 1, which corresponds to 20 per cent opacity.
In July 1990, the Air Pollution Control (Fuel Restriction) Regulations banned fuel oils with a sulphur content over 0.5 per cent by weight or a viscosity over six centistokes at 40°C. The sulphur content of solid fuels is limited to one per cent by weight. Due to the unfavourable topography of the Sha Tin area, which restricts atmospheric dispersion, only gaseous fuels may be used there.
The enforcement of the fuel restriction regulations has successfully reduced emission of sulphur dioxide by 80 per cent. These regulations have also reduced nitrogen oxides and particulates.
Certain industrial facilities and processes, including power utilities, incinerators, gas production plants, metallurgical factories and cement plants, which are liable to cause significant air pollution, are targeted for control under the licensing system provided by the Air Pollution Control Ordinance and the specified processes regulations. After the enactment of the Air Pollution Control (Amendment) Ordinance in February 1993, the number of specified processes covered by the ordinance increased from 23 to 31.
However, most of these facilities are presently exempted from licensing control. At the end of 1994, there were 173 exempted premises while only 68 licences were in force. As the exempted premises are not obliged to adopt the best practicable means to control air pollution, they continue to cause problems.
To tackle this situation, the amended ordinance allows the phased removal of these exemptions. Phase I of the exemption removal took place in November and as a result, 34 exemptions were removed. The last phase of exemption removal is scheduled for 1997. Together with the adoption of a technical memorandum approach in issuing air pollution abatement notices, these measures will further reduce air pollution in Hong Kong.
Noise from industrial or commercial premises is controlled under the Noise Control Ordinance. The department responds to complaints and may serve noise abatement notices which require a reduction of excessive noise by a given date. Failure to comply with the
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