ENG-1990 — Page 420

THE ENVIRONMENT

existing hazardous situations and new proposals for development of PHIs. The EPD has a key role in providing technical advice on these matters to other authorities, especially those with responsibility for regulating existing operations or approving new developments.

Setting standards for 'acceptable' or 'tolerable' levels of public risk is a contentious subject which is being vigorously debated throughout the world. The government has now adopted interim guidelines for dealing with these risks when assessing new PHIs and development in the vicinity of existing PHIs. These guidelines are aimed at limiting the risk of death of any individual to no more than 1 in 100 000 per year. For accidents which may involve large numbers of people a 'risk aversion' approach has been adopted. This aims to ensure that, as the potential consequences of accidents increase, the acceptable frequency of their occurrence is reduced.

The guidelines for acceptable societal risk levels have also been endorsed by the government's Co-ordinating Committee on Land Use Planning and Control relating to PHIs and they form the basis of standards to be incorporated into the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines.

To enhance the communication between the government and the public on environ- mental matters, the EPD devoted considerable effort to liaise closely with the District Boards and to operate a 24-hour complaints hotline.

The number of complaints received by the hotline in 1990 was approximately 8 600. This represented an increase over 1989 of about 80 per cent. While the figures themselves do not accurately reflect the actual state of the environment, they give an indication of increasing public awareness and concern over the environmental conditions in which people live. The majority of the complaints were related to noise and air pollution problems caused by industries and traffic. Public concern over noise problems increased dramatically following the implementation of the Noise Control Ordinance in 1989. In terms of the spatial distribution of the complaints, most were found in major industrial areas such as Kwai Tsing, Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong as well as in old congested urban areas such as Sham Shui Po, Kowloon City and Wan Chai. The complaints unit also fielded about 16 800 general enquiries on pollution matters during 1990.

Legislation and Pollution Control

Water Pollution

The government has adopted an environmental quality management approach in tackling the water pollution problem. In this approach, community uses of different areas of water are identified, perhaps for commercial fishing, community and industrial water supply, or simply enjoyment or recreation. Then the quality of water which is appropriate for the respective uses is assessed and water quality objectives (WQOs) are defined for each area of water. To achieve or maintain these water quality objectives, the Water Pollution Control Ordinance (WPCO) was enacted in 1980 for controlling discharges.

The WPCO applies within defined areas called Water Control Zones (WCZs). Tolo Harbour and Channel, notorious for heavily-polluted water, was the first WCZ to be declared, in 1982. This was followed by the Southern WCZ, which embraces the southern parts of Hong Kong Island and Lantau and the outlying islands in the southern waters, where there are many swimming beaches. Two more WCZs, Junk Bay (Tseung Kwan O) and Port Shelter, were declared during 1989 so that by June 1990, 11 000 domestic and 900

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