XN000022-1996-04-15 — Page 9

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The spokesman said that the Government is now proposing to amend the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance to lower the maximum permissible level of tar in cigarettes so as to reduce smokers' exposure to this harmful substance.

"We also propose to require the tar content in milligrams to be shown on cigarette packets and in advertisements so that the smokers are better informed," he added.

End

Air quality report for March

*

The Environmental Protection Department today (Monday) released air quality information for March 1996.

The purpose of the announcement is to keep the public informed of the air quality levels in the territory and to explain the measurements.

The

announcement

contains monitoring

monitoring results

from Mong

Mong Kok,

Central/Western and Kwai Chung, which represent three important land use types in

the territory:

locations close to road traffic in built-up urban areas,

combined commercial and residential districts, and

districts close to industrial areas.

The reported air pollutants include sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), total suspended particulates (TSP) which comprise all sizes of dust particles, and the respirable fraction of the dust (RSP). All these pollutants can affect respiratory health in sufficient concentration.

In March, there was no exceedance of the relevant Air Quality Objective (AQO) values at any of three stations. And as usual, the Mong Kok station recorded the highest concentrations of all measured pollutants.

SO2 is

The gases and particles described originated from various sources. mostly produced when fuels that contain sulphur are burned. NO2 is formed during combustion by the combination of nitrogen and oxygen, and by the atmospheric oxidation of nitric oxide (NO), also a product of combustion.