ENG-1992 — Page 433

THE ENVIRONMENT

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and private buildings, to ensure any asbestos materials involved were handled and disposed of properly. Its asbestos laboratory, which is covered by the Hong Kong Laboratory Accreditation Scheme, analysed 250 bulk samples and 310 air samples.

Construction and demolition wastes, including dredged material, that meet a tight quality specification, may be dumped at sea, subject to licensing control under the Dumping at Sea Act 1974 (Overseas Territories) Order 1975. Anyone who intends to dump dredged marine spoil or excavated material that is unsuitable for reclamation purposes must first obtain a licence from the Director of Environmental Protection.

Spoil grounds have been designated for the disposal of dredged marine spoil or excavated material unsuitable for reclamation purposes. All marine dumping activities must be carried out at these designated spoil grounds in an appropriate manner in accordance with the marine dumping licence.

In view of the serious impact of illegal spoil dumping on marine life, the Environmental Protection Department has revised its marine dumping action plan. With effect from January 2, 1993, a vessel must be equipped with an automatic self-monitoring device before it can be listed in the marine dumping licence. The device will track all marine dumping operations by keeping a continuous record of the draft and the position of the vessel, so that the authority can trace any illegal dumping, with more cost-effective deployment of control staff.

The department maintains tighter enforcement through frequent marine patrols, strict - licensing conditions and prosecution of offenders. It will revoke the licence and refuse a new licence to repeat offenders. During 1992, the department brought four successful prosecutions upon a repeat offender at the District Court resulting in a total fine of $200,000.

Livestock

Indiscriminate disposal of waste from the livestock industry is one of the main causes of pollution in New Territories streams, and is a hazard to the health of many people in Hong Kong. In 1987 a law was made to prevent pollution by livestock waste. It came into effect in June 1988, when livestock keeping was banned in the old urban areas of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, and in the new towns. At the same time controls over waste disposal came into effect in the first three of 25 areas to which control would be extended over a period of seven years. They were Tolo Harbour, Anglers Beach and Mui Wo. At the end of 1992 about 75 per cent of the original 18 000 active and inactive farms were in areas where pollution control legislation applies.

Complementing these controls is an administrative scheme to help operators affected by them. If an operator wishes to continue in business he is eligible for a grant and a loan to help him

pay for pollution control facilities. Since the start of the scheme about $1.6 million has been paid out in capital grants and loans. If an operator chooses to cease business rather than install pollution control equipment he is eligible for an allowance ex gratia to tide him over until he finds other employment. Since the start of the scheme about $500 million has been paid out in allowances, of which about $160 million was paid out in 1992.

During 1992, the livestock waste control scheme stopped pollution equivalent to the raw sewage from 300 000 people being discharged into the environment. This brought to about 55 per cent the total reduction in livestock waste pollution since the inception of the control scheme.