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    Following is a question by the Hon Choy So-yuk and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (April 20):

Question:

    It has been reported that Greenpeace, a green group, discovered several electronic waste workshops in operation in Hung Lung Hang, Fanling, and collected soil samples from the site of one such workshop for laboratory test.  The test results revealed that the soil contained the pollutants lead and brominated flame retardants.  The Environmental Protection Department ("EPD") subsequently collected soil samples from six electronic waste workshops.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council :

(a) of the test results of the soil samples collected from the above electronic waste workshops by EPD; if the results are not yet available, when they will be made public by EPD;  

(b) given the information of EPD which reveals that 91 electronic waste workshops are in operation in Hong Kong, whether EPD has any plan to conduct site inspection of them one by one to check if they have caused any environmental pollution; if it has, of the details of the plan; if not, the reasons for that; and

(c) whether the Government has any plan to step up the regulation of the operation of electronic waste workshops; if it has, of the details of the plan; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

Madam President,

(a) The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) collected soil samples for laboratory analysis from areas inside and outside six electronic waste (e-waste) workshops in Hung Lung Hang, Fanling.  Analysis of the samples is substantially completed. EPD expects to announce the laboratory and analysis results within this week.

(b) The 91 e-waste workshops are located in remote areas of the New Territories, with about half in the North District, one-third in Yuen Long and the remaining ones in Fanling and Kwu Tung.  EPD has plans in place to conduct regular and surprise inspections of these workshops.  In fact, EPD has visited each and every one of the 91 e-waste workshops, with a frequency of one to twelve times.  Since 2004, EPD has participated in many joint operations with the Immigration Department and the Police and has successfully forced entry into some of those workshops that were always heavily guarded and locked up, with the aim to investigate suspected illegal activities in these workshops.

(c) The dust, noise, wastewater and waste generated at e-waste workshops are subject respectively to the control of the Air Pollution Control Ordinance, Noise Control Ordinance, Water Pollution Control Ordinance, Waste Disposal Ordinance and their relevant subsidiary regulations.  EPD will initiate appropriate legal actions and prosecutions against those breaching the Ordinances.  According to EPD's inspection results, these e-waste workshops are primarily used for storing used/second-hand electrical and electronic products (such as outdated/waste computers, TVs, home appliances).  Nonetheless, simple operations of mechanical dismantling of e-waste have been found in a small number of workshops, but no chemical process was involved.  Since 2004, EPD has stepped up monitoring and enforcement, and has successfully secured 7 convictions against operations that breached the Ordinances.  EPD will continue to monitor closely the e-waste workshops to ensure their compliance with the legal requirements.  In addition, EPD has enhanced cooperation with other departments such as the Immigration Department, the Police, Planning Department and Lands Department, working together to suppress suspected illegal operations of e-waste workshops.

Ends/Wednesday, April 20, 2005

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