ENG-1999 — Page 466

THE ENVIRONMENT

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roads had been resurfaced with a special porous, low-noise road surface, bringing some relief to about 15 600 households. More than 10 800 classrooms were treated against noise, benefiting about 514 000 students.

The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation has embarked on a 10-year noise reduction programme. It has completed noise mitigation projects at seven sites out of a total of 27, bringing relief to some 50 000 residents affected by train noise. Another package of mitigation measures covering a total of eight sites in Kowloon Tong and Tai Po began in late 1999 with a target completion date in 2001. The Mass Transit Railway Corporation has already completed a programme to install wheel dampers on all its trains to reduce noise emission.

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, where the sea nearby is the only area affected by such severe noise. Only about 100 village houses are within the moderately affected area under more stringent planning controls. Nonetheless, although the noise levels are far lower than those experienced from Kai Tak airport, there is concern about the impact on other residents under the new flight paths who were previously unaffected. The Government is mindful of the concern and is studying and implementing aircraft noise mitigating measures as far as practicable.

Construction and Demolition

Noise from general construction work between 7 pm and 7 am, and on public holidays, is controlled through the construction noise permits. The permits restrict the use of equipment according to strict criteria and ban noisy manual activities in built-up areas. Percussive piling is prohibited at night and requires a permit even during daytime. Noisy piling machines may operate up to only three hours a day in urban areas but quieter ones can work up to 12 hours. In 1999, some 2 600 permits were issued. There were about 260 convictions for work without permits or violating permit conditions. The use of noisy percussive piling hammers, including diesel, steam and pneumatic hammers, in built-up areas has been phased out since October. In addition, the Government has also phased out old and noisy equipment. The law now requires hand-held percussive breakers and air compressors for construction to meet strict noise standards and to have a 'green' noise emission label. In 1999, about 790 labels were issued and there was one prosecution for operating these products. without a label. Over 87 per cent of the labels are issued to newly imported quiet models.

Intruder Alarm and Neighbourhood Noise

The police handle complaints on intruder alarm and neighbourhood noise from domestic premises and public places. In 1999, the police dealt with some 4 300 complaints and 23 offenders were convicted.

Water and Sewerage

Water pollution has increased with urban development. Hong Kong produces more than two million tonnes of sewage every day. The lack of proper treatment for most sewage from the urban area around Victoria Harbour has resulted in poor water quality there. The concentration of sewage bacteria (E. coli) in the central harbour in