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Following is a question by the Hon Albert Ho and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Edward Yau, in the Legislative Council today (June 18):
Question:
Regarding the impact of the pollutants generated by the Castle Peak Power Station (CPPS) on the environment of the Tuen Mun district, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) how the data obtained by the relevant department by measuring the concentrations of various types of air pollutants in Tuen Mun in the past five years compare to the relevant data for other districts, and whether the Government has assessed if the current air quality in Tuen Mun is poorer than that in other districts;
(b) of the situation regarding the emission of air pollutants by CPPS in the past three years, and the Government's measures to ensure the CLP Power Hong Kong Limited provides to it accurate monitoring data in respect of CPPS; and
(c) whether there are measures to monitor the impact of the fuel ashes generated by CPPS on the surrounding environment; if so, of the monitoring results for the past three years; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) The Environmental Protection Department's ambient air quality monitoring station (AQMS) at Yuen Long monitors the ambient air quality of the north-west New Territories, covering areas of Tuen Mun, Tin Shui Wai and Yuen Long. Hence, the air monitoring data from the Yuen Long AQMS can reflect the air pollution level of Tuen Mun district.
The annual average concentrations of major air pollutants measured at the Yuen Long AQMS as well as those at the urban and new town areas for the past five years from 2003 to 2007 are shown in Table 1 to Table 4 in the Annex.
Generally speaking, the air monitoring data from the Yuen Long AQMS indicate that the respirable suspended particulates and sulphur dioxide levels in the north-west New Territories, including Tuen Mun, are higher in comparison to the levels in other areas. The nitrogen dioxide level is slightly higher than that of other new towns but slightly lower than the urban area. The ozone level is slightly lower than the level of other new towns but generally comparable with the urban area. Besides the influence from the local polluting sources, the higher respirable suspended particulates and sulphur dioxide levels in the north-west New Territories could be due to the fact that such area, being located in the north-west side of Hong Kong, is more susceptible to the influence of air pollution and photochemical smog in the Pearl River Delta Region. However, there was no obvious deterioration in the levels of major air pollutants in the past five years.
(b) The emissions of Castle Peak Power Station in the past five years are as follows:
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Sulphur dioxide 51.0 51.6 45.9 35.8 35.0
(kilotonne)
Nitrogen oxides 36.8 26.5 25.7 22.5 28.8
(kilotonne)
Particulates 1.7 2.2 1.8 1.4 1.5
(kilotonne)
Under the specified process licence terms and conditions, Castle Peak Power Station is required to monitor continuously the emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides and determine emission of respirable suspended particulates in accordance with the internationally recognised methods specified by the Authority. They are also required to transmit the instantaneous monitoring data to the Environmental Protection Department for scrutiny and implement the quality assurance and quality control programme according to the European Standard EN 14181 for ensuring data reliability and accuracy.
(c) Under the specified process licence, Castle Peak Power Station is required to use high efficiency electrostatic precipitators to control the emission of particulates (i.e. ash) from coal-fired power generation. The power station is also required to continuously monitor the particulates emission by means of opacity from the stack and the relevant data is transmitted to the Authority for on-line monitoring to ensure compliance with the licensing requirements. In the past five years, the particulates emission arising from the plant operation complied with the licensing requirements and the emissions are unlikely to cause adverse impact on its surroundings.
Ends/Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Issued at HKT 16:07
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