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LCQ13: Installation of radio base stations in HA's PRH estates
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     Following is a question by the Hon Sin Chung-kai and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (June 19):

Question:

     Regarding the installation of telecommunications transmitters (transmitters) by telecommunications service operators (TSOs) at the public housing estates, Tenants Purchase Scheme estates and Home Ownership Scheme courts (the estates/courts) under the Housing Department (HD), will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the current number of estates/courts and number of the buildings concerned at which transmitters have been installed, and set out the names of such buildings and the respective numbers of transmitters installed by the name of the estate/court;

(b) whether the authorities had informed the residents in the estates/courts concerned of their decisions to install such transmitters, in particular the residents of upper floors who might be affected by the radiation generated by such transmitters; if they had, of the responses of the residents; if not, the reasons for that;

(c) whether the authorities had, prior to the installation of such transmitters, consulted the Estate Management Advisory Committees/Owners' Committees of the estates/courts concerned; if they had, of the responses of such committees; if not, the reasons for that;

(d) of the methods by which HD calculates the rents which TSOs are to be charged for such transmitters, and the percentage of the related annual revenue in HD's total annual revenue from all estates/courts in the territory;

(e) whether it knows the level of the radiation generated by such transmitters, and of the statutory maximum level of radiation at present;

(f) whether it has studied the impact of prolonged exposure to the radiation generated by such transmitters on human health; if so and the conclusion is that there is no impact, whether the conclusion is 100 per cent credible, and of the relevant scientific evidence; and

(g) whether the tenants residing on the upper floors of the buildings of the estates concerned may apply for transfer on grounds of concern about the impact of radiation from the transmitters on health?

Reply:

President,

     The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) provides space in its public rental housing (PRH) estates for telecommunications service operators to install radio base stations so as to allow the nearby community and PRH residents to use the relevant telecommunications service.

     Upon receipt of the applications by the HA, operators are required to submit the relevant carrier licences issued by the Communication Authority (CA). Applications will be considered in accordance with established practice including assessing whether the application complies with all the relevant legal requirements and determining its feasibility by the Housing Department (HD)'s Independent Checking Unit and estate management and works staff.

     Before the operators can put the relevant radio base stations into operation, they have to submit an application with technical proposals to the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) for approval by the CA. The CA would consider whether the base stations can comply with the technical requirements of radiation safety when processing the applications.

     With inputs from the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, my reply to the questions raised by the Hon Sin Chung-kai is as follows:

(a) At present, there are in total more than 900 radio base stations installed at the domestic blocks of the HA's PRH estates, involving 148 estates and 520 domestic blocks. Please refer to the Annex for details. As the management of the Tenants Purchase Scheme estates and Home Ownership Scheme courts is under the responsibility of their respective owners' corporations or owners' associations, the HA does not have the relevant information for these estates and courts.

(b) and (c) When examining the installation proposals of radio base stations, the primary consideration of the HD is whether the applications can comply with the relevant legal requirements. As mentioned above, the relevant radio base stations have to be approved by the CA before coming into operation, and the technical requirements of radiation safety of the base stations will be considered in that context. As the radio base stations are mainly installed at the rooftop and all base stations allowed to be used must be in full compliance with the technical requirements of radiation safety set out by the CA, the HD in general will not consult PRH residents and Estate Management Advisory Committees concerned regarding such applications.

(d) After taking into account the latest market evidence of letting of various telecommunications sites in private sector properties gathered from the service providers and the Rating and Valuation Department, the HA will set the licence fees at market level. In 2012/13, the annual rental income from licence fees paid by service providers for telecommunication installations accounted for 0.79 per cent of the HA's total income for PRH estates.

(e) According to the licence conditions, licencees of telecommunications services shall obtain approval from the CA before bringing radio base stations into use. In assessing licencees' applications, the CA will consider whether the radio base stations comply with the technical requirements of radiation safety.

     In consultation with the Department of Health, the CA adopts the limits recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) as radiation safety standard. In the 900 MHz, 1 800 MHz and above 2 000 MHz bands, the limits for time-varying electric field are 41.3 V/m, 58.3 V/m and 61.0 V/m respectively.

     OFCA has issued a "Code of Practice for the Protection of Workers and Members of Public against Non-Ionising Radiation Hazards from Radio Transmitting Equipment". All licencees of telecommunications services are required to observe the Code of Practice to ensure that their radio base stations shall not generate a radiation level exceeding the above ICNIRP limits in public areas. Furthermore, the licencees are required to provide OFCA with measurement reports within one month from the commencement of operation of their radio base stations to demonstrate compliance of radiation levels with the safety standard.

(f) As mentioned above, the CA, in consultation with the Department of Health, adopts the ICNIRP limits as the radiation safety standard for radio base stations.

     ICNIRP is an independent scientific commission. The non-ionizing radiation limits set out by the commission was endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the assessment of the WHO, there is no convincing scientific evidence to suggest that radio base stations meeting the ICNIRP limits will cause adverse health effects on the public.

(g) If individual tenants have any questions about the radio base stations installed, they should approach the relevant estate offices for assistance. The HD would refer individual case to the OFCA for follow up action if necessary.

     The HA has established policy to deal with tenants' transfer applications. Tenants with medical reasons may apply to their respective estate offices for transfer. The HD would consider the applications carefully having regard to their individual merits.

Ends/Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Issued at HKT 12:41

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