XN000022-1994-06-08 — Page 29

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 1994

THE

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QUALITY OF DRINKING WATER EXTENSIVELY MONITORED

WATER SUPPLIES DEPARTMENT CARRIES OUT EXTENSIVE QUALITY MONITORING OF TREATED WATER SUPPLY IN HONG KONG ON AN ON-GOING BASIS IN ACCORDANCE WITH GUIDELINES OF THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION (WHO).

THIS WAS STATED BY THE SECRETARY FOR WORKS, MR JAMES BLAKE, IN WRITTEN REPLY TO A QUESTION BY DR THE HON HUANG CHEN-YA IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TODAY (WEDNESDAY).

A

MR

BLAKE SAID THE SCOPE OF MONITORING INCLUDES 18 ORGANIC AND NINE INORGANIC CONSTITUENTS WHICH WERE CONSIDERED OF HEALTH SIGNIFICANCE BY THE WHO.

THE ORGANIC DETERMINANTS COVER PESTICIDES, CHLORINATED HYDROCARBONS, POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS AND PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS, WHILE INORGANIC DETERMINANTS ARE MAINLY HEAVY METALS, SUCH AS LEAD AND CADMIUM.

THAT

"IN THE PAST THREE YEARS, MOST OF OUR MONITORING RECORDS INDICATED

OUR DRINKING WATER WAS ESSENTIALLY FREE FROM SUCH POLLUTANTS; THE QUANTITY BRING SO SMALL THAT IT WAS BELOW THE DETECTION LIMITS OF THE SENSITIVE ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES AND INSTRUMENTS, MR BLAKE SAID.

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WERE

HE NOTED THAT IN RECORDS WHERE SOME TRACES OF POLLUTANTS DISCOVERED, THE QUANTITIES MEASURED WERE WELL BELOW THE WHO'S GUIDELINE FOR DRINKING WATER QUALITY.

0

CRITERIA FOR RELEASING SCHOOL SITES EXPLAINED

A TOTAL OF 27 SCHOOL SITES HAVE BEEN RELEASED BY THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT DURING THE PAST THREE YEARS IN ACCORDANCE WITH A SET OF CRITERIA, THE SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER, MR MICHAEL LEUNG, TOLD THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TODAY (WEDNESDAY).

IN A WRITTEN REPLY TO A QUESTION BY THE HON LI WAH-MING, MR LEUNG POINTED OUT THAT THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT WOULD NOT RELEASE ANY SITES RESERVED FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF SCHOOLS INCLUDING THOSE RESERVED IN PUBLIC HOUSING ESTATES OR HOME OWNERSHIP SCHEME ESTATES UNLESS FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL SCHOOL PLACES FOR WHICH THE SITES WERE ORIGINALLY RESERVED NO LONGER EXISTED BECAUSE OF

DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES; AND/OR

THE SITES WERE TOO SMALL TO MEET THE MODERN SCHOOL DESIGN STANDARDS; AND/OR

ON FURTHER INVESTIGATION, THERE WERE PHYSICAL RENDERING THE SITES UNSUITABLE.

CONSTRAINTS,

/MR LEUNG