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Clear the Air: Letter to Legco Member On HK Air Pollution Policy

Jan 8th, 2009
by AdminCTA.
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The following letter was sent to the Legco Member by Clear The Air:

8th January 2009

Dear Legco Members,

Clear the Air commends the Legco motion to pressure the Government to act by adopting WHO standards at an appropriate level and not at emerging nation levels which are lower than we have now. http://147.8.71.207/pollution/graph.php

We fail to see how ARUP, the consultants appointed to perform the AQO study , could possibly know more than the eminent researchers used by WHO in formulating its standards. We see no benefit in the EPD further engaging the public in consultations on our pea soup air and delaying matters further.

Our major pollution sources that damage health (moreso the growing lungs of our children) are our coal burning power stations , old diesel trucks and busses, ocean vessels burning high sulphur bunker fuel in the busiest port in the world , unburnt aircraft kerosene and for half of the year, imported pollution from the PRD.

The Government must also be forced to accelerate the use of the 52 million cubic meters of methane currently being flared off from NENT, WENT and SENT landfills. In the UK Gasrec Ltd has produced a diesel fuel replacement from landfill methane, Liquid Biomethane to replace diesel use in vehicles.

In San Antonio Texas, human waste will be used to produce methane to power the whole city. In Rwanda a prison is run by electricity powered from the same source. In Hong Kong instead, Government is calling for quotes to build and operate a sludge incinerator rather than taking heed of the San Antonio project.
http://environment.about.com/od/fossilfuels/a/human_waste.htm

The power companies are burning more and more polluting coal. In 2007 CLP burned 3 times more coal than in 1997. In 2007 CLP used 40% less clean natural gas than in 1999 whilst producing more electricity. HK Electric has only one gas turbine capable of 335 MWh and produced only 17% of its product with gas last year.

The Government must insist on these WHO AQO standards and the power companies will comply by using BACT (Best Available Current Technology). If the standards are set too leniently the power companies can benefit from burning more Indonesian cheap coal whilst still meeting the emission standards.

The technology is available such as Indigo Agglomerators. http://www.indigotechnologies.com.au/. If you study the technical documentation available on this site
you will see how the tiny particulates reduce visibility opacity and add to the haze layer. The sky might be blue but the air we breathe is still smoggy grey and laden with these particulates. For the cost of 17 days’ coal supply CLP could retrofit a further 15 agglomerators and clear our air. HKEH would cost even less to do the same.

Only now are the power companies fitting Flue Gas Desulphurisation and NOx burner technology. In fact the super heat NOx burners create another problem in that they ‘crack’ the soot particles into lethal PM2.5 (report available). Current Electrostatic Precipitators in the power station stacks catch only 99% of soot particles and the remaining PM2.5 they cannot catch is then belched into the air. That is several thousand tonnes of lethal particles per year, let alone the greenhouse CO2. Hong Kong currently has no PM2.5 standard and PM2.5 is the killer; neither does it have any CO2 controls.

PM2.5 is a particulate with a diameter 1/30 of a human hair , it carries heavy metals and poisons from the coal and diesel combustion processes , cannot be stopped by nose hairs and so enters deep into the lungs.

It seems Hong Kong has a NATO Administration – No Action Talk Only.

Yours sincerely,

James Middleton

Chairman
Energy Committee
www.cleartheair.org.hk

Reference:  New Hong Kong Air Pollution Policy Proposed

Officials Snubbed Over Sludge Burner

Jan 7th, 2009
by AdminCTA.
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Cheung Chi-fai, SCMP – Updated on Jan 07, 2009

Environment officials were given the cold shoulder by politicians at a meeting of the Tuen Mun District Council yesterday.

Councillors, who are angry over plans to build a sludge incinerator nearby, refused to discuss the issue with the officials and demanded negotiation with them directly on planning matters.

The demands were made in two motions endorsed by the councillors at the meeting to discuss the Nim Wan incinerator and proposed landfill expansion in the district.

One of the motions called on legislators not to approve funding for any facility that caused pollution – including the HK$4.7 billion incinerator – until planning matters were properly addressed by top officials.

“There is neither adequate consultation nor a balanced development plan for Tuen Mun. There is also no compensation to minimise the negative impacts of these dirty facilities,” said district councillor Albert Ho Chun-yan, who is also a Democratic Party legislator.

Other councillors feared that if the sludge incinerator were approved, it would pave the way for the government to build more unpopular facilities in the district.

Ellen Chen Ying-lung, assistant director of environmental protection, said there was no communication breakdown with the councillors.

“This is our job to come here and it is part of the process we must go through. But we also understand their worries and we will continue our dialogue,” she said.

Dr Chen stressed that the incinerator’s impact on air quality would be minimal as it would be separated from the town centre by a mountain ridge and winds would carry emissions away from the town.

The incinerator would burn up to 2,000 tonnes of sludge a day.

Dr Chen said the department was open-minded on ways to green and beautify the incinerator and provide community facilities.

“Perhaps it could be turned into a tourist spot … one that allows people to see the sunset there,” she said.

The department intends to seek funding for the incinerator this year and hopes to start construction next year for completion by 2012.

More Than 1 Million People Consider Leaving Polluted Hong Kong

Jan 6th, 2009
by AdminCTA.
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Sun2Surf – Jan 6, 2009

Hong Kong – More than 1 million people are considering leaving Hong Kong because of its worsening air quality, according to a university study published Tuesday.

The potential exodus from the city of 6.9 million would be far greater than the numbers who considered leaving in the run-up to Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule in 1997, pressure group Civic Exchange warned.

Interviews with 1,000 people suggest that between 700,000 and 1.4 million people are so worried about Hong Kong’s air quality that they are either considering or making plans to leave.

The survey, published in Tuesday’s South China Morning Post and Hong Kong Standard newspapers, indicates that locals as well as expatriates believe the city’s smog is becoming too much of a health hazard to live with.

Speaking on government-run radio station RTHK Tuesday, Civic Exchange chief executive Christine Loh described the findings of the study, conducted by the city’s Baptist University, as “shocking.”

“Nearly half a million people are seriously considering or actually making plans to leave Hong Kong, not just considering it,” she said. “These are huge, huge numbers.

“We are not just talking about expatriates. Only 3 per cent of the sample were non-Chinese. Ninety per cent of the people surveyed have also heard co-workers talking of leaving. We are talking about a broad sweep of Hong Kong people.”

The survey showed that Hong Kong’s image had been dented not only overseas by worsening air quality but also in the minds of people who live and work in the city, Loh said.

Air quality in Hong Kong has deteriorated significantly since the early 1990s, largely because of factory pollution blowing into the city from neighbouring industrial southern China.

Hong Kong’s Beijing-appointed leader Donald Tsang has pledged to tackle the issue, describing it in one speech as “a matter of life and death”, but air quality in the high-rise city has continued to deteriorate.

Figures released last week found that the number of days in which roadside air quality in Hong Kong reached dangerous levels was up almost one fifth in 2008 compared to the previous year. – dpa

Pollution Driving Hong Kong Residents Out

Jan 5th, 2009
by AdminCTA.
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Australia Network News – 5th Jan 2009
Air pollution in parts of Hong Kong last year reached its highest level since records began. [AFP]

Air pollution in parts of Hong Kong last year reached its highest level since records began. [AFP]

A new survey in Hong Kong has found that one in five residents is considering leaving because of the city’s poor air quality.

The survey, by the Civic Exchange think tank, has again raised fears over Hong Kong’s competitiveness.

It found that over a million residents have thought of leaving, including 500,000 who are “seriously considering or already planning to move”.

They include top earners and highly educated workers, raising questions over Hong Kong’s ability to attract and retain top talent.

Air pollution in parts of Hong Kong last year reached its highest level since records began.

1 In 5 Considering Leaving Hong Kong Due To Pollution: Survey

Jan 5th, 2009
by AdminCTA.
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AFP – 5 Jan 2009

HONG KONG (AFP) — One in five Hong Kong residents is considering leaving the city because of its dire air quality, a survey released Monday has found, raising fears over the financial hub’s competitiveness.

The findings equate to 1.4 million residents thinking about moving away, including 500,000 who are “seriously considering or already planning to move,” according to the survey by the think tank Civic Exchange.

Those most seriously thinking about fleeing the city include top earners and highly educated workers, raising questions over the southern Chinese city’s ability to attract and retain top talent, the report’s authors found.

“People from all sectors of society know that air pollution is making them sick,” said Michael DeGolyer, a political science professor at Hong Kong Baptist University.

“Many are concerned to the point they are considering leaving Hong Kong, including local professionals.”

DeGolyer added that the survey of more than 1,000 residents debunked the myth that concerns about air pollution were confined to the city’s foreign residents, as only three percent of the respondents were expats.

The research also found that concern about pollution had risen rapidly since 2001, and that managers and administrators were some of the most worried.

“And Singapore wants them,” DeGolyer told reporters, referring to the long-standing rivalry between the two Asian cities to attract top talent.

Air pollution across some parts of Hong Kong last year reached its highest level since records began, official figures released last week showed.

A spokesman for the Environmental Protection Department said tough measures had helped reduce the levels of several pollutants in recent years and it was working closely with neighbouring Guangdong province, whose factories are the source of much of the city’s pollution.

“The government shares the aspiration of the public for clean air and has been implementing strong measures to control our emissions at source, particularly from road transport and power generation,” the spokesman said, in a statement.

A Civic Exchange report last year said that at least 10,000 deaths were caused every year in Hong Kong, Macau and southern China by the region’s worsening air pollution.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang has called improving air quality a “matter of life and death” for the city, but has still to introduce new air quality standards, 20 years after the current set was brought in.

Paper Bags Can Easily Be Used By Shoppers

Jan 4th, 2009
by AdminCTA.
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SCMP – Updated on Jan 04, 2009

The Legislative Council should pass the government’s proposal to levy plastic shopping bags at 50 cents each.

However, it should review the levy after implementation of the law if the amount of plastic bags being used remains unchanged.

Like cigarette tax, the plastic bag levy is a way of changing people’s habits.

The tobacco tax has proved effective at reducing smoking in the United States.

In the case of a tax on plastic bags in Hong Kong, if the levy fails in its purpose of reducing use of plastic bags, then they should be outlawed.

I do not think this is unreasonable. Reusable plastic bags, however, should still be allowed.

Paper shopping bags have been in use for many years and such bags can also hold household refuse.

It would be a marvellous idea if a strip could be added to the paper bag, which seals the top, to ensure the hygienic disposal of refuse.

I think this idea of a paper bag would offer a most practical solution when it comes to how we bag our groceries and take them home.

John Yuan, Beijing

HK Government Pushing To Ban Idling Car Engines To Tackle Pollution

Jan 3rd, 2009
by AdminCTA.
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channelnewsasia.com – 03 January 2009

HONG KONG: The Hong Kong government is pushing for a law to force drivers to turn off their engines when parked. But the bid to cut down on the city’s air pollution is being met with fierce opposition from the transportation industry.

It seems Hong Kong’s smog problem may be getting worse. 2008 data reported in the local newspapers showed that in the city’s most crowded areas, the number of hours air pollution exceeded dangerous levels jumped by 14 per cent, compared to a year ago.

Vehicles have been pinpointed as the second largest air polluter in the city.

Kitty Poon, Acting Secretary for the Environment, said: “The banning of idling vehicles with running engines has been discussed in the community for several years. The government has gained strong support from the public to move forward.”

However, the transportation trade is not in support of the ban. Drivers argue that when it comes to Hong Kong’s sweltering summers, constantly turning off air-conditioning will turn off passengers.

They also said that starting and stopping engines so many times a day would burn out their vehicles’ battery.

The government has now softened some of the rules for public transportation, including an exemption for the first five taxis parked at a taxi stand.

The government hopes the new law will be enacted this year. – CNA/vm

On Other Matters …

Jan 3rd, 2009
by AdminCTA.
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SCMP – Updated on Jan 03, 2009

I read a story on the Vectrix electric motorcycle in the Motoring column (“Brave new whirr”, May 24).

I note that the Hong Kong police used a number of these motorcycles to full effect during the Beijing Olympic torch relay (“Bike show gets a tour de force”, November 1).

My friends in the force have told me that all officers who used it rave about it in every way.

Your article mentioned the dealership and sole importer. I contacted them and they said they had them in stock but that the Transport Department had not licensed them yet because they had not completed their trials on the vehicles.

Well, the police are clearly happy with them and are still using them in their attractive green livery. Is it that the commissioner for transport thinks the Hong Kong public is incapable of operating an electric vehicle responsibly and will run out of juice suddenly in the outside lane of an expressway? Surely not.

Why, then, can I not pay the HK$90,000 and buy one, thus reducing my monthly fuel bill from HK$4,000 to HK$300? Oh, yes, and clean up the air a bit, too.

Could the relevant department please respond and get into top gear to save our air?

Siu Kwok-chu, Tai Po

City Hit By High Smog Levels

Dec 26th, 2008
by AdminCTA.
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SCMP – 26 Dec 2008

Smog blanketed Hong Kong, pushing the air pollution index to over 100 in the three districts of Causeway Bay, Mong Kok and Central throughout the day. In the morning, the index reached 141 in Causeway Bay. A pollution index above 100 is considered very high.

Residential Car-Park Plans Fly In The Face Of Air Pollution Pledges

Dec 23rd, 2008
by AdminCTA.
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SCMP – Updated on Dec 23, 2008

I was stunned to read in the report (“Plan to cut developers’ sweeteners”, December 13), that our government, despite its declarations of commitment to sustainable development and to cleaning up our abominable air quality, has in fact been pushing property developers to include parking facilities in their developments. You quoted a Development Bureau source: “Existing planning guidelines asked each development to build a minimum amount of parking space.”

So instead of encouraging inner-city dwellers to use the convenient and abundant public transport services available in urban areas, the government has been promoting car ownership. This explains why new developments on crowded, narrow, inner-city streets have sprouted large podiums that block ventilation and are a major cause of air pollution and conflict between pedestrians and vehicles.

In most mature cities, inner-city residential accommodation does not include parking facilities, yet here in Hong Kong, where previously few blocks included car parking, people who would never have dreamed of purchasing a car now find themselves with an empty garage to fill. Perhaps the Development Bureau would like to let the public know which official came up with this dumb idea?

While massive podiums may be permissible on standalone sites on say Castle Peak Road, they are certainly not appropriate in areas such as Wan Chai, Central, Sheung Wan, Causeway Bay and Yau Tsim Mong. Residents of these areas for years traditionally did not own cars and it is in the interests of the community both from a health perspective and also to promote interaction between the different strata of society that they continue not doing so.

In view of the soaring pollution and the high cost to the community in terms of chronic respiratory conditions, medical fees and lost productivity we must call for an immediate halt to parking-related concessions. Hundreds of thousands of chickens have been slaughtered to ward off the spread of bird flu. Measures to counteract air pollution should be implemented in the same decisive and immediate manner. Public health must come before the pecuniary interests of property developers.

Martin Brinkley, Ma Wan

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