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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 (May 23) :
Question:
Currently, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has set up 14 air quality monitoring stations (AQMSs) in Hong Kong, among which three are roadside AQMSs. It has been reported that in the past eight years, EPD had not reviewed the number of AQMSs in the light of the development of and population movement in Hong Kong. For example, the population in Tseung Kwan O had increased rapidly in the last decade, and the traffic volume had increased correspondingly, but the Government has not set up any AQMS in the district. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the criteria for determining the locations of AQMSs, and whether the factors of population and traffic volume are among such criteria; and
(b) whether it has any plan to re-evaluate the locations of various AQMSs and increase the number of roadside AQMSs; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply :
Madam President,
(a) In designing the air quality monitoring network and identifying the locations of the air quality monitoring stations (AQMSs), the Government needs to consider a number of factors, including the spatial distribution of the monitoring network, the coverage in different types of development areas (e.g. urban areas, new towns and rural areas), local population, the distribution of traffic flow and pollution sources, the capability in monitoring regional air pollution, topography and meteorology.
Geographically, the current monitoring network, comprising 14 AQMSs, covers major areas from East to West and from South to North of the territory. Regarding land uses, it also covers different types of development, such as residential areas, mixed residential/commercial areas, mixed residential/commercial/industrial areas, rural areas and busy urban roadside areas. Therefore, the current air quality monitoring network is adequate in providing full range of data covering the lowest to the highest air pollution levels in Hong Kong as well as air quality information in different types of development areas. The current monitoring network is fully capable of providing a true picture of the air quality in Hong Kong.
(b) The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) conducts annual reviews of the overall design and representativeness of the monitoring network. As mentioned above, the current monitoring network is adequate in reflecting the air quality levels of different types of development areas in Hong Kong, including typical roadsides with heavy traffic. Therefore, we do not have any plan to make changes to the monitoring network or to increase the number of roadside AQMSs.
Ends/Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Issued at HKT 11:51
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