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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Housing Authority:
The following is a transcript of remarks by the Chairman of the Review Committee on Quality Assurance Issues Relating to Fresh Water Supply of Public Housing Estates of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (Review Committee), Mr Cheung Tat-tong, during a media session today (October 6):
Reporter: What are the loopholes discovered by the Review Committee and what measures will the Authority to step up to avoid the same happening in the future?
Chairman of the Review Committee: The first point I would like to make is in terms of design and specification, the material for soldering joint is lead-free. It's specified in the contract. The problem is why the soldering joint containing lead can be allowed to get into the construction site and installed without notice. That is the major area we are looking at. Our view is, one of the findings is, at the moment, how this soldering material is getting into the site depending on different procurement arrangements by contractors. Some contractors procure it by themselves; some contractors sub-let the entire drainage contract to their plumbing contractors. In some of the projects, the plumbing contractors procure the materials themselves and some of the projects even the plumbing contractors ask their workers or site agent to procure the materials. So that is the loophole that we found. That allowed those unqualified materials to the site.
Our findings and recommendations are that we suggest the Housing Authority to consider asking the main contractors in the future as the main contractor, they procure the material with a qualified supplier. So all these materials procured have to be up to what the contract requirements are. This material when they are sent to site, they will be checked by Housing Authority staff and these materials will be put on the quarantine list on site. When the workers are required to use this material, they need to be registered with the main contractor, i.e. the main contractor needs to maintain a register of who have taken this soldering materials and where they use these materials, so that we can trace where these materials are. And after the workers have done the soldering joints, we require the main contractor to do this quick test: to do checking of these soldering joints whether they are lead-free or not by using quick test method. And the Housing Authority site staff will further check on a sampling basis, further check on the completed work by the workers. Finally, the Water Authority, before issuing the Water Certificate, will come and check again. It is three layers of checking.
Our view is, if we first control the material, the proper material have to go to site. And the workers taking on all these materials and where they are going to do this work are traceable. Finally when you apply for Water Certificate, lead is a material that required to be checked before the Water Authority issues the Certificate. With all these three layers of checking. I hope the incident would not repeat in the future.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Issued at HKT 21:24
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