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LCQ18: Malodour complaints from the Tseung Kwan O town south area
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    Following is a question by the Hon Lau Kong-wah and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (April 25) :

Question:

     Many residents in Tseung Kwan O South have relayed to me that they often smell a foul odour from an unknown source in spring and summer.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)  of the number of such complaints received by the relevant government departments in the past 12 months, and the follow-up actions taken;

(b)  whether it has investigated the source of the foul odour and its impact on human health; and

(c)  whether it will consider installing a stationary gas monitoring device in the district to assist in tracing the source of the foul odour?

Reply:

Madam President,

(a)  In the past 12 months, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) received 161 malodour complaints from the Tseung Kwan O town south area.  EPD had investigated each of these complaints thoroughly, in order to try to find out the odour source(s).  In response to the complaints, EPD staff had conducted more than 600 inspections in 2006 during different time periods, at all the affected estates and all potential odour sources in the area.  Moreover, pursuant to the request from residents of Tseung Kwan O town south, EPD has set up a designated malodour complaint hotline, and extended the service hours from 6 pm to 11 pm (including Sundays and public holidays).  In addition, in order to conduct immediate investigation, starting from end-June 2006, EPD deployed extra resources to arrange investigation staff to handle malodour complaints immediately until 11 pm in evenings and Sundays.  After receiving complaint call, EPD staff would contact the complainant immediately for investigation.  EPD had informed all complainants about the investigation results, and reported the main results at different occasions to the Sai Kung District Council, etc.  EPD will continue to monitor the situation closely.

(b)  EPD inspection teams scented slight malodour intermittently during some inspections in the Tseung Kwan O town south area.  Based on all the investigation results, it was found that the South East New Territories (SENT) Landfill might be one of the odour sources. On the other hand, it was also found that some of the cases might be caused by other sources, such as refuse trucks and foul sewers inside estates.  In order to enhance the performance on odour management at the SENT Landfill and to prevent odour from the landfill affecting nearby residents, additional improvement measures have been implemented in the landfill, including provision of additional deodorising units on site, reduction of the size of the active tipping face, prompt covering up of the waste deposited, provision of thicker cover to the waste, and covering up of the active tipping face by soil at the end of each working day.  Moreover, special attention will be paid to the soil cover during the rainy season.  EPD is also reviewing every details of the landfill operation, in order to further enhance the management of odour at the landfill.  As malodour in the Tseung Kwan O town south area was intermittent and of light intensity, there is no evidence or indication that the odour will cause any ill health effect.

(c)  Investigation of community odour complaints is mainly based on the smell and professional judgement of the investigators.  This is similar to the method being used in other parts of the world.  In fact, the human nose is more sensitive than most electronic equipment, and can also distinguish the intensity and type of odour, as well as whether the odour is irritant or offensive.  Moreover, the odour scented by complainants could be that of rubbish, sewage, faeces or smell of rotten egg, etc.  This reflects that the composition of the odour under complaint may be quite complex.  It is therefore very difficult to use a single instrument for investigation.  We believed that the above arrangement to conduct immediate malodour complaint investigations in Tseung Kwan O town south by EPD staff in the evenings may effectively handle the complaints.

Ends/Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Issued at HKT 11:36

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