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Following is a question by the Hon Cyd Ho and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (February 20):
Question:
At present, there are nightly fireworks displays at the Hong Kong Disneyland and it has been the practice of the Government to arrange for fireworks displays on major festivals and celebration ceremonies. Some academics have pointed out that the discharge of fireworks can cause serious air pollution. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the chemical substances emitted from the discharge of fireworks; which of them are air pollutants;
(b) of the impact of such pollutants on public health;
(c) how it measures the quantity of pollutants emitted from the discharge of fireworks; of the respective quantities of pollutants emitted from the National Day Fireworks Display held on October 1, 2012 (which lasted for about 23 minutes) and the New Year's Eve Countdown Pyrotechnic Show held on December 31, 2012; and whether it has calculated the total quantity of pollutants emitted from the discharge of fireworks at the Hong Kong Disneyland in 2012; if it has, of the results; and
(d) whether the authorities will consider reducing the frequency of fireworks displays and stepping up regulation of such activities, so as to reduce the emission of pollutants; if they will, of the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(a) and (b) Respirable suspended particulates (RSP) containing a very small amount of heavy metals are the main air pollutants emitted from the discharge of fireworks. According to the environmental impact assessment (EIA) study carried out by the Hong Kong Disneyland in 2000, the fireworks display will not cause such air pollutants to exceed the relevant local and international standards. To minimise the use of harmful heavy metals and their impacts on the environment, the environmental permit issued by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has stipulated that the fireworks must not contain mercury, chromium, lead, zinc, nickel, manganese and arsenic etc. In addition, for hosting fireworks displays on special days, the Home Affairs Bureau has included in the application guidelines for fireworks display requiring sponsors not to purchase and use fireworks containing these harmful substances, and use as far as possible environmentally friendly fireworks and launching technology to minimise impact on the environment.
To ascertain whether their fireworks displays meet the relevant environmental requirements, the Hong Kong Disneyland conducted fireworks display tests to monitor their environmental impacts before commencing operation. The monitoring results tallied with the assessment of the EIA report, indicating minimal impacts of the fireworks displays on air quality. The Theme Park Limited conducted air quality monitoring again during operation, and the air quality data obtained at Discovery Bay showed that air quality there was basically similar to that as measured in the nearby EPD's Tung Chung air quality monitoring station.
The hosting of fireworks displays in important festivals and celebrations are few and will last for a short duration involving high-altitude fireworks discharge above the sea. In general the air pollutants tend to disperse easily and hence have limited impacts on air quality and public health.
(c) We have not assessed the emissions from the National Day Fireworks Display and the New Year's Eve Pyrotechnic Show as they lasted for a short duration and their impacts on the overall air quality were insignificant. As regards the fireworks displays of the Hong Kong Disneyland, an assessment of the emission of pollutants was made in its EIA report. According to data in the EIA report, the annual emission of RSP from the fireworks display would not exceed 6 tonnes. This accounted for 0.1 per cent of Hong Kong's total emission of RSP in 2011.
(d) The National Day and the Lunar New Year Fireworks Displays have been held in Hong Kong for many years. These fireworks displays and nightly fireworks display at Hong Kong Disneyland help attracting visitors to Hong Kong. If we suddenly stop organising these activities, it might have a negative impact on the local consumer market and the tourism sector.
The authorities will carefully examine all applications of fireworks display to ensure that these activities are only restricted to days of "particularly important" to Hong Kong. Previously approved fireworks displays include celebrating the fifth, tenth and fifteenth anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the 2009 East Asian Games opening ceremony.
Ends/Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Issued at HKT 12:51
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