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The Government today (January 4) successfully completed the transportation of about 20 tonnes dioxin-containing residues from To Kau Wan in Lantau to the Tsing Yi Chemical Waste Treatment Centre (CWTC) for incineration in the next few days.

"The dioxin-containing residues were delivered from To Kau Wan to CWTC early this morning following a designated route specified in the Environmental Permit issued by the Director of Environmental Protection (DEP) under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance," a spokesman for the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) said.

"During the operation, some protesters blocked the convoy at CWTC. The Police had taken necessary and appropriate action to clear these protesters in the interest of safety for all concerned, including the protestors and other road users," the spokesman said.

He stressed that stringent precautionary measures had been adopted throughout the transportation.

"The DEP granted approval on December 24, 2004 for incineration of the remaining dioxin-containing residues at CWTC since the trial exercise on November 26 complied with all stipulated requirements," he explained.

The trial incineration exercise had ascertained the efficiency of existing control measures at CWTC. The Independent Expert Assessor was satisfied with the air monitoring results analysed by an accredited laboratory which demonstrated clearly that CWTC was capable of incinerating dioxin-containing residues within stringent emission standards.

Active steps will be taken to monitor the incineration process to be carried in the next few days, and relevant data will be posted from time to time on the website of CEDD at: http://www.cedd.gov.hk/eng/topics/idcr/index.htm.

Ends/Tuesday, January 4, 2005

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