XN000022-1996-11-20 — Page 41

End

+

27

(c)

Measures adopted by the Fire Services Department to improve the fire and ambulance services in the NT include -

Fire Services

To better serve the rural areas in the NT, we plan to commission new fire stations in Tuen Mun and Sham Tseng within the next three years and to procure two additional Light Pumping Appliances in 1997/98 to enable land crews to gain access to remote areas where access by major fire appliances is difficult or impossible.

Ambulance Services

We plan to deploy six additional Ambulance Aid Motor Cycles (AAMC) in the NT to cover Tin Sum, Ma On Shan, Tai Po, Lei Muk Shue, Tin Shui Wai and Kwai Chung in the next two years. AAMC can respond to emergency cases at locations inaccessible by a standard town ambulance due to road configuration. A new ambulance depot at Sham Tseng will be completed in 1997/98. The department will then re-deploy the ambulance fleet with the new resourcesto the new ambulance depot to further improve the emergency ambulance cover in the NT by reducing the travelling time.

Radon concentrations in public places within international standards

Following is a question by the Hon James To Kun-sun and a reply by the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, Mr Bowen Leung, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Question:

According to the findings of a study by the City Polytechnic University to measure the levels of radon daughter (which is a potentially lung-cancer-causing radioactive substance) in Mass Transit Railway (MTR) stations in the territory, 23 out of the 31 underground MTR stations have levels of radon daughters exceeding the average level in the world. The study has also found that workers engaged in overnight maintenance work on MTR tracks are exposed to a level of radiation one-sixth higher than the level to which ordinary people are exposed. In view of this, will the Government inform this Council whether: