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Following is a question by the Hon Li Kwok-ying and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (October 26):
Question:
Will the Government inform this Council :
(a) whether the authorities have received complaints about stench emitted from refuse collection points (RCPs) and landfills in the past three years; if so, of a breakdown of such complaints involving off-street RCPs, village-type RCPs and landfills, as well as the details of how they have followed up these complaints;
(b) whether it has assessed the health implications for people exposed to such stench for a long time; of the mitigation measures taken by the authorities in this regard, and how they monitor the performance of the personnel concerned to ensure that they implement these measures in an earnest manner; and
(c) as it has been reported that the concentrations of volatile organic compounds at a number of RCPs in various districts in Kowloon and Hong Kong are generally on the high side, whether the authorities will consider establishing safety standards for outdoor concentrations of these substances; if so, of the details; if not , the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) In the past three years, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) has received 104 complaints about stench emitted from refuse collection points (RCPs) out of which 53 were from off-street RCPs and 51 were from village-type and other on-street RCPs. FEHD has investigated the above cases by inspecting the hygienic condition of the RCPs and seeing whether the ventilation, deodorizing and exhaust systems are functioning properly. The investigations revealed that most of the RCPs under complaint were operating in a proper manner with no emission of stench. Amongst the some 100 complaints, only 16 cases were substantiated. Appropriate improvement measures were taken to enhance the hygiene of those RCPs by better housekeeping and more frequent washing, proper covering of refuse bins, closing of roller shutters and proper maintenance of the ventilation, deodorizing and exhaust systems.
In 2002, 2003 and 2004, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has also received 18 complaints against stench from RCPs in public places and 40 complaints against odour from landfill sites. Upon the inspections by EPD staff, most cases were found unsubstantiated. For those few substantiated cases, the odour generated was mostly due to inadequate house-keeping practices. The problems were resolved after EPD had provided advice to the facility operators.
(b) According to the Department of Health, stench in the environment is not only irritating, but may also cause headache, nausea and even breathing difficulties. FEHD has all along been highly concerned about the operation of the RCPs to ensure that it is done in a hygienic manner. For permanent off-street RCPs, Architectural Services Department (ArchSD), in making reference to the requirements and guidelines of the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines, designs and constructs permanent off-street RCPs with the provision of standard facilities to tackle the odour problem. These include activated carbon deodorizing systems, water scrubbing systems at RCPs and exhaust extraction systems for refuse collection vehicles (RCVs). In addition, the RCPs are properly cleansed immediately after each collection operation. FEHD has also put in place operational guidelines and monitoring mechanisms, such as regular checks and surprise inspections, to ensure proper operation of the RCPs.
Odour nuisance associated with landfilling operation has been assessed in detail during the project feasibility stage and mitigation measures during the construction and operation stages have been incorporated into the performance requirements of the landfill contracts. These measures include prompt compaction and covering up of the waste after waste deposition, confining the size of the active tipping face to be as small as possible, and sealing off the active tipping face with suitable inert materials on a daily basis. Such measures could prevent the generation of odour nuisance to the surrounding environment.
In addition to close management of the landfilling operation by the contractors on site, EPD also monitors the contractors' performance to ensure compliance with the stringent performance requirements of the contracts as well as the statutory requirements in the relevant pollution control legislation.
(c) As for "Volatile Organic Compounds", it is a general term covering a large number of different chemicals. For those chemicals which may have an impact on health, irrespective of whether they are odorous or not, relevant acceptable ambient concentrations for health protection have been established in the Technical Memorandum under the Air Pollution Control Ordinance.
Ends/Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Issued at HKT 15:41
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