XN000022-1973-03-20 — Page 2

Tuesday, March 20, 1973

MARKED IMPROVEMENT IN AIR POLLUTION SITUATION

Industrialists Now More Aware Of Problem

There has been a dramatic drop in air pollution throughout Hong

Kong, according to Mr. K. Higginson, the Smoke Abatement Advisor of the

Labour Department.

:

Figures just released by the department's Air Pollution Control

Unit show that sulphur dioxide concentrations and smoke densities in the atmosphere have fallen by as much as 80 per cent since the beginning of 1970,

when the Unit went into full operation.

Mr. Higginson said the Unit's figures were based on moving 12 months

averages, to make allowance for the effects of weather conditions.

He said readings of sulphur dioxide concentrations at the Hung Hom

monitoring station had shown a steady improvement from a count of 1,429

micrograms per cubic meter in January, 1970 to 279 micrograms per cubic meter

in December 1972 a drop of more than 80 per cent.

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At the Queen Elizabeth Hospital monitoring station, there had been

a fall of 48 per cent in the same period.

Mr. Higginson said much of the credit for these two improvements

should go to the China Light and Power Company for its use of low-sulphur fuels

during adverse wind conditions.

The monitoring stations at Sham Shui Po and at Central Market had

shown a gradual climb in sulphur dioxide readings to a peak in the early half

of 1972. Since then there had been a gradual fall in readings.

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