ENG-1994 — Page 476

THE ENVIRONMENT

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regarded as environmentally friendly. An environmental monitoring and audit programme was put in place in 1994. A separate EIA study for the gas supply system was completed during the year, including an assessment of the risks associated with the pipeline transport of high pressure natural gas from Hainan in China.

The two additional 350-megawatt coal-fired generating units proposed by Hong Kong Electric Company (HEC) and approved by the government in 1993, are being built. These will be equipped with the region's first flue gas desulphurisation units to reduce acid gas emissions. An environmental monitoring and audit programme was implemented. Arrangements have been made with HEC and CLP to make available pulverised fuel ash for use in reclamation works under certain conditions.

Comprehensive EIAS were carried out for both of these major power projects.

Rural Developments

Under the Rural Planning and Improvement Strategy, the government is committed to improving the quality of life in rural areas. The strategy has moved forward, with efforts to terminate thousands of polluting short-term land uses. Village sewage improvement schemes have also been carried out in the rural areas of the New Territories.

As a result of the revision of the livestock waste control scheme, anyone wishing to keep livestock has to apply for a licence. This provides a powerful planning tool to ensure environmental compatibility with other planned or prevailing land uses.

- - A task force to clean up the environmental blackspots in the New Territories was set up in August, to bring early and visible improvement to areas identified as being the most environmentally degraded.

The initial focus is on the Shek Kong area. Particular attention is also being given to blackspots associated with container-related operations.

Hazardous Installations

The government's risk management policy on potentially hazardous installations (PHIS) is to minimise risks to the public by requiring the PHIS to be constructed and operated to the highest standards and by controlling the land use in their vicinity. In 1988, the government introduced a set of Interim Risk Guidelines to determine the acceptability of risk associated with a PHI. The guidelines were formally adopted in 1993, and were incorporated into the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines in 1994. An 'as low as reasonably practicable' principle was introduced into the guidelines to ensure implementation of all risk reduction measures which are practicable and cost-effective. The Hong Kong Risk Guidelines limit public risks from PHIS to levels which are comparable with the most stringent international standards.

Chlorine has long been used in Hong Kong for water disinfection at water treatment works and swimming pools. As chlorine is toxic, potential risks to nearby residents from chlorine storage and use have been evaluated for all water treatment works, which are classified as PHIs. The assessments confirmed compliance with the Risk Guidelines following the introduction of several mitigation measures, including improvements in chlorine handling procedures, the replacement of bulk storage tanks with one-tonne or 50-kilogramme containers, and installation of chlorine absorption systems. These risk mitigation measures were fully implemented by the end of 1993.