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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 (March 7) :
Question:
The Air Pollution Control (Petrol Filling Stations) (Vapour Recovery) Regulation (Cap 311S) requires petrol filling stations (PFSs) in existence on March 31, 2005 to install, by March 31, 2008, vapour recovery systems (recovery systems) in their petrol dispensers (including modifying the nozzles) to recover the petrol vapour displaced from the fuel tanks of vehicles when they are being refuelled and return it to the petrol storage tanks in the stations, so as to reduce the release of volatile organic compounds and carcinogenic benzene into the environment. The Government has recently requested the oil companies to accelerate the installation of the aforesaid recovery systems as far as possible. However, it has been reported that while one-third of the 189 private PFSs have completed the installation works, only about 10% of the 85 government PFSs have done so. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective progress targets for installing the recovery systems in private and government PFSs, and whether there is any difference between the two; if so, of the reasons for that; if not, why the installation progress of government PFSs has lagged behind that of private PFSs;
(b) whether it will speed up the pace of the installation projects in government PFSs; if so, of the relevant details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) as it has been reported that the modified nozzles mentioned above are incompatible with the design of the fuel tanks of some old-model "parallel-imported" vehicles, whether the authorities will provide support to the vehicle owners concerned, such as providing guidelines on modification of fuel tanks; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
The Air Pollution Control (Petrol Filling Stations) (Vapour Recovery) Regulation requires all petrol filling stations (PFSs) to complete the installation of vapour recovery systems (recovery systems) in their petrol dispensers by March 31, 2008. The retrofitting works for Government PFSs are in steady progress. It is expected that at least about 30% of the Government PFSs will have completed installing recovery systems by March this year and all Government PFSs will complete the installation within the statutory deadline. The progress is, in fact, comparable to that of the private PFSs.
The neck of fuel tank of a very small number of old-model "parallel-imported" vehicles, which are not intended for importation into Hong Kong, may need to be modified to meet the local statutory requirements. Some reports show that the petrol pumps cannot be inserted completely into the fuel tank of certain modified "parallel-imported" vehicles and push open the valve inside the tank for refuelling. We have approached the oil companies and the vapour recovery system suppliers on this issue and learnt that staff of the PFSs can complete the refuelling process smoothly by making use of some simple methods, such as using simple tools to push open the valve. To spare new "parallel-imported" vehicles from the same problem, the Environmental Protection Department has informed motor trade associations and asked them to notify members to ensure that new "parallel-imported" vehicles are compatible with the new petrol pumps.
Ends/Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Issued at HKT 14:34
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