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Following is a question by the Hon Raymond Ho and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Edward Yau, in the Legislative Council today (October 22):
Question:
It has been reported that as some underground car parks are poorly ventilated, vehicle emissions easily accumulate therein, which may be hazardous to the health of drivers and car park staff. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether underground car parks are required to comply with any requirement relating to ventilation design or equipment before they are open to public use; and
(b) what measures it will take to safeguard the health of drivers and car park staff who work for long hours in an environment with poor air quality, and whether regulation of the air quality of underground car parks by way of legislation will be one of them; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(a) To promote the use of good ventilation systems in car parks to protect the health of car park users, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) issued a "Practice Note on Control of Air Pollution in Car Parks" (Practice Note) in 1996. Apart from air quality guidelines for car parks, which cover the levels of carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide, the Practice Note provides guidance on the design, ventilation, operation and monitoring of car parks for reference of operators and design professionals when carrying out related work. Moreover, EPD will keep abreast of the latest developments in professional and air quality standards, and update the Practice Note when necessary.
(b) Following the issue of the Practice Note, EPD measured the air quality of underground car parks on a random basis to assess the effectiveness of the Practice Note. The results showed that the level of pollutants inside 97% of the underground car parks met the air quality guidelines set out in the Practice Note. In the past three years, EPD received only four complaints about the air quality in car parks. No further complaints have been received after we requested the car park operators concerned to improve the condition according to the Practice Note. We believe that the Practice Note is effective in safeguarding the health of underground car park users and will continue to monitor its implementation.
To safeguard the occupational health of car park staff, the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance and its subsidiary regulations stipulate that employers must, as far as reasonably practicable, ensure the safety and health at work of all their employees including taking appropriate measures to keep workplaces adequately ventilated. Therefore, it is the responsibility of car park operators to ensure adequate ventilation of their car parks to safeguard the occupational health of car park staff.
The Labour Department (LD) promotes the protection of safety and health of employees at work through the three-pronged strategy of promotion, education and enforcement. In respect of workplace ventilation, LD has published practical guides pertaining to workplace ventilation and maintenance of ventilation systems for employers' and employees' reference; organises large-scale health talks regularly to disseminate occupational safety and health information including tailor-made health talks for employees working in car parks and their employers; and conducts regular inspections of workplaces managed by property management companies and monitors the working environment of car parks in buildings. In the event of violation of relevant legal requirement, LD will take appropriate enforcement actions.
Ends/Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Issued at HKT 14:49
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