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MR. PANG (in Cantonese) :
sir,
-As industrial development in Hong Kong continues to make its way, the chance for local workers to be exposed to the risks of dangerous substances becomes more frequent. Over the past few years, industrial accidents arising from the use of dangerous chemicals happened one after another, resulting in injuries or even deaths. The harm done by chemicals is far more serious than that by ordinary machines because they may have subsequent effects on the offsprings of the victims. For example, in the gas leakage in Maduchi Industry Company Limited in 1983, over 200 workers were admitted to hospital after they had inhaled toxic gas. Six female pregnant workers had to undergo abortion as a consequence. The explosion at the Cipel-Marco Limited factory in 1986 was an even more tragic incident in which 14 workers were killed and many others sustained serious injuries. Many of them have not completely recovered so far. These are lessons which we must not easily forget.
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The Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Dangerous Substances) Regulations 1988 introduced today basically adopts a positive approach in tackling the problem and should be implemented as soon as possible. However, these Regulations hardly achieve its intended effects in the absence of a comprehensive set of legislation on occupational safety and health. This has drawn criticisms from a number of labour organizations as the Regulations may even add to the mental stress
of the workers.
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Under the Regulations, an employer in breach of the Regulations is liable to a maximum fine of $20,000 to $30,000 while a maximum penalty of $10,000 is imposed on employees. It should be noted that there is a great disparity in the financial position between the employers and the employees and a penalty of
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