ENG-1991 — Page 417

THE ENVIRONMENT

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declared and Air Quality Objectives (AQOs) set for seven major air pollutants. The ordinance provides also for the Director of Environmental Protection to issue notices requiring the abatement of air pollutant nuisances, modification or repair of chimneys or relevant plants, prohibition of the use of unsuitable fuels and provision of information. During the year, 315 such notices were served.

To solve the territory-wide sulphur dioxide problem, new regulations came into force in 1990 to limit the sulphur content of liquid fuel to 0.5 per cent by weight while allowing only gaseous fuels to be used in Sha Tin, an area with poor dispersion characteristics. Since the regulations came into force, a dramatic drop in sulphur dioxide levels (up to 80 per cent) has been recorded. The regulations impose requirement on the viscosity of liquid fuel, which has brought about a significant reduction in particulate and nitrogen dioxide emissions. During the year, 42 prosecutions were instituted for breaches of the regulations.

Certain industrial processes designated as 'specified processes', which may cause serious air pollution, are controlled under the Air Pollution Control (Specified Processes) Regulations. These cover, among others, power utilities, incinerators, gas production plants and cement plants. However, most of the specified processes which existed before October 2, 1987, were exempted from this licensing requirement. As the exempted premises are not obliged to use the best practicable means to control the emission of air pollutants, they continue to cause air pollution problems. A study on the feasibility of tightening up the control on these premises concluded that most could be upgraded to comply with - control requirements at an affordable cost. There are proposals to amend the APCO for

removal of exemptions. During the year, 42 licences and 104 exemptions were in force.

-Emissions from stationary sources are also covered by other regulations. These include the Air Pollution Control (Smoke) Regulations which restrict dark smoke emission from stationary combustion sources, and the Air Pollution Control (Furnaces, Ovens and Chimneys) (Installation and Alteration) Regulations which require submission of plans and specifications to the EPD for approval before installation or alteration of fuel-using equipment is carried out. During the year, 608 such submissions were received and processed.

To enforce the controls, regular inspections of industrial and commercial premises are made for compliance monitoring purposes and in response to complaints. During the year, 8 318 inspections were made, 1 659 complaints were investigated, and technical advice was provided to 1 415 plant operators to help them comply with controls. 449 prosecutions were made for non-compliance with APCO controls.

Amendments to the APCO to provide for control of asbestos in the environment are being developed for introduction in 1992.

Motor vehicle emission problems were tackled through a comprehensive control strategy. The first element of the control strategy dealing with emissions from new vehicles was launched on April 1, 1991, following the enactment of the APCO (Amendment) Ordinance in January 1991. Unleaded petrol (ULP) is now available at all filling stations. The supply of ULP will facilitate the use of catalytic converter technology on new vehicles, which is the best means of controlling emissions from petrol engines. So far, about 56 per cent of petrol driven vehicles in Hong Kong have switched to ULP, the highest initial penetration achieved in any country where ULP has been introduced. The second element of the control strategy was implemented through the Air Pollution Control (Vehicle Design Standards) (Emission) Regulations which require all light duty vehicles and passenger cars