ENG-1998 — Page 471

THE ENVIRONMENT

of 0.05 per cent is permitted in motor diesel fuel. Since April 1998, all new diesel private cars must meet very stringent emission standards. This has, in effect, ended the registration of new private cars using diesel.

A scheme for reporting smoky vehicles has been running since 1988. All vehicles reported under the scheme must be examined at a designated test centre to confirm that the vehicle owners have rectified the smoke defects. Since 1995, when tighter smoke inspection and more stringent emission standards for new vehicles were introduced, fewer smoky vehicles have been spotted. The 18 test centres conducted about 29 900 tests in 1998.

These programmes will contribute to much-needed reductions in health-threatening levels of air pollutants, especially in urban areas, and take many smoky vehicles off the roads. However, if the health-related air quality objectives are to be met, light- duty diesel vehicles such as taxis and public light buses will have to switch to cleaner fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The government began a one-year trial with LPG taxis in November 1997 besides monitoring the development of other clean alternative motor fuels. The results of the trial scheme were positive and all the findings showed that LPG taxis are suitable for use in Hong Kong.

Road traffic noise is one of the most pervasive forms of pollution in Hong Kong. Close to a million people at home suffer road traffic noise higher than 70 dB(A) L10(1 hr), which is the minimum acceptable standard in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines.

Pre-emptive planning based on environmental impact assessments remains the most effective way to tackle road traffic noise problems. As a last resort, building insulation may be undertaken to redress the impact on the affected premises. To assess the practicability of installing counter-measures such as roadside barriers and enclosures on existing roads to reduce noise, a Hong Kong-wide study is under way.

Legislation to control noise from vehicles, a quiet road surface programme and a programme for noise abatement in schools are the major supporting measures that will help alleviate traffic noise problems. Up to 1998, about 11 kilometres of noisy roads had been resurfaced with a special porous, low-noise road surface, bringing some relief to about 15 000 households. More than 10 000 classrooms were treated against noise, benefiting about 490 000 students.

The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation has embarked on a 10-year noise reduction programme. It has completed noise mitigation projects at five sites, out of a total of 27, bringing relief to some 40 000 residents affected by train noise. Another project is under way near Peace Avenue and Ho Man Tin Street with a target completion date in mid-1999. The Mass Transit Railway Corporation has begun a programme to install wheel dampers on all its trains to reduce noise emission. The programme is expected to be completed by 2000.

The problem of aircraft noise has ended for those living under the Kai Tak airport flight path, with the relocation of the airport to Chek Lap Kok. About 760 000 people have been relieved of the noise that afflicted them in the past few decades of Kai Tak's operation. The most severely affected, about 380 000 people, can now enjoy normal communication and rest without being interrupted by aircraft noise reaching the 100dBA level. At Chek Lap Kok, the sea nearby is the only area affected

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