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THE ENVIRONMENT
In view of the unsatisfactory disposal arrangements for clinical waste, animal carcasses and some security wastes, a centralised incineration facility is planned for their disposal. A consultancy study is underway and the tender for constructing the facility is expected to be called in early 1995.
The government has appointed a contractor to collect livestock waste that would otherwise be indiscriminately dumped into streams and rivers in the New Territories. In 1994, some 1 050 tonnes of solid livestock waste were collected and sent to the government- operated composting plant at Sha Ling for recycling.
Monitoring and Investigations
The assessment of progress towards policy goals is one of the key activities of the Environmental Protection Department. Its routine monitoring and special investigations form the basis for all the strategic planning, provision of facilities and statutory controls aimed at improving the environment.
The department operates several extensive monitoring programmes. For the monitoring of marine waters, it has a network of over 100 sampling stations in the open sea, enclosed bays and typhoon shelters; and for inland waters, there are another 80-odd stations. It also keeps 42 gazetted bathing beaches under surveillance. The results of this monitoring, which goes back to 1972, form a comprehensive record of the chemical, physical and microbiological quality of Hong Kong's waters.
- - All the data are published regularly, and can be made available to scientists and engineers on computer discs or tapes to contribute to their work. Members of the public are usually most interested in the summary reports of bathing water quality, which are issued to the media and published in newspapers every two weeks during the summer.
Mathematical models are frequently used to assess the water quality impact of major development activities in Hong Kong. In the light of the increasing size and complexity of these activities, the department's modelling capabilities were recently expanded to cover a much larger area beyond the boundaries of Hong Kong.
Another field of investigation is the impact of toxic chemicals on the environment. This leads to an assessment of the safety of specific materials for use in the local environment and to the refinement of effluent standards.
The department operates an air quality monitoring network consisting of eight stations. The stations are equipped with continuous ambient monitoring instruments for measuring sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, photochemical oxidants and carbon monoxide. Respirable and total suspended particulates (dust) and lead concentrations are also measured.
The results of measurements at the Kwai Chung, Central and Western, and Mong Kok monitoring stations are reported and published each month. These stations broadly represent air quality in industrial areas, in combined commercial-residential districts, and near road traffic in built-up urban areas.
The department also operates a mobile laboratory which found that the air quality in semi- confined transport interchanges was unacceptable. A study to determine possible measures to alleviate these problems is underway.
In view of concern about high nitrogen dioxide levels adjacent to roads, a territory-wide survey of nitrogen dioxide concentrations was carried out to supplement measurements made at the fixed air quality monitoring stations. About 60 passive diffusion tube samplers