Clear The Air News Blog Rotating Header Image

November 15th, 2012:

Hong Kong Government Audit Slams Air Quality

Nov 15th, 2012
by Editor.
No comments yet

The Wall Street Journal

http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-VI931_hkair_G_20121114054246.jpg

A man looks around in front of high rise buildings shrouded in a haze of heavy pollution on August 3, 2012 in Hong Kong.

For years, Hong Kong residents fed up with choking fumes have slammed the city’s lackluster efforts to fight air pollution—and as it turns out, the government’s own audit office agrees with them.

The government’s audit commission found that Hong Kong has consistently failed to reach its goals on air quality since 1987, when they were first adopted. Last year, the report found, roadside concentrations of key pollutants exceeded the government’s air-quality objectives by up to 53%. Meanwhile, levels of nitrogen dioxide—a major indicator of roadside pollution—exceeded World Health Organization limits by 205%.

The report also found that last year—which clocked record-high roadside pollution levels—the average concentration level of nitrogen dioxide in Hong Kong was 279% higher than in Sydney, 47% higher than in London and 36% higher than in New York. Levels of “PM10,” larger particles of air pollutants, were 220%, 100% and 153% higher than those cities, respectively.

Local green groups responded to the report’s release with cheers. “I’ve never seen anything similar before from the government,” said Patrick Fung, campaign manager for the Clean Air Network, a local environmental NGO, of the report’s release. “This [presents] a green light for more measures to be carried out by the current administration.”

Since he was inaugurated in July, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has been moving more aggressively than his predecessor to confront the issue of air pollution, with his environmental secretary floating the prospect of a ban on old diesel vehicles last month. In September, the administration also tapped Christine Loh, a well-known green activist, to serve as undersecretary for environment.

“We will vigorously improve air quality and carefully consider public health when formulating clean-air policies,” Mr. Leung told lawmakers last month, including through possible efforts to “[make] polluters pay.”

The audit report noted that the World Health Organization has stated that air pollution can cause respiratory and heart diseases, as well as lung cancer. It also added that there is “growing public concern” over how Hong Kong’s air-pollution levels have deteriorated among locals.

The audit’s findings come as a new report from CPA Australia finds that Hong Kong is continuing to lose out to cleaner, greener rival Singapore among companies seeking to set up a corporate regional hub in Asia. According to the group’s survey, 59% of respondents said they believed international companies would prefer to set up their regional headquarters in Singapore, compared with just 22% who cited Hong Kong. Pollution ranked as the No. 3 reason why companies would decide against settling in Hong Kong, after high rental and living costs.

– Te-Ping Chen. Follow her on Twitter @tepingchen.

Copyright 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit

www.djreprints.com

Cloud of failure thickens in war against foul air

Nov 15th, 2012
by Editor.
No comments yet
HK Standard

Air quality objectives for 2014 can hardly protect public health, the Director of Audit says in criticizing officials who have failed to meet standards that began to be set 25 years ago.

Mary Ann Benitez

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Air quality objectives for 2014 can hardly protect public health, the Director of Audit says in criticizing officials who have failed to meet standards that began to be set 25 years ago.

People had to suffer through 175 days last year when the air pollution index topped 100, which means levels are at high or very high and the stuff of serious health warnings. That compares with 74 similar bad days in 2007.

And even as the Director of Audit’s report was released yesterday, the API touched 140 – an alarmingly high level – in Central.

The auditor noted that 2014’s quality objectives that take into account four major pollutants “do not provide adequate protection of public health” when compared with World Health Organization guidelines.

And as roadside pollution levels caused mainly by emissions from diesel vehicles indicated, schemes to offer incentives to replace vehicles have been far from effective.

Only 54 percent of diesel-driven public light buses ran on LPG by the end of a HK$142 million scheme in December 2005.

Also, a HK$772 million scheme in 2007 saw 12 percent of pre-Euro-standard buses switching to Euro IV. But only 11 percent of vehicles that needed to convert to that standard had done so by March this year under a HK$261 million scheme that started in 2010.

By the time another HK$261 million scheme ends next June there will still be a large number of old standard buses running.

There was also a failure to cut emissions from buses to any marked degree by reducing the number on the road. A spokeswoman for KMB admitted there was a cut of only 2.9 percent from a fleet of 3,900 buses.

Simon Ng Ka-wing, head of transport and sustainability research for Civic Exchange, said: “Air pollution in Hong Kong is so worrying that we must go for policies and measures that would not just bring a marginal difference but substantial and measurable improvement in air quality and public health.”

IMPLEMENTATION OF AIR-QUALITY IMPROVEMENT MEASURES

Nov 15th, 2012
by Editor.
No comments yet
Executive Summary
1. Air pollution is one of the major problems in Hong Kong. The
Environment Bureau (ENB) and the Environmental Protection Department (EPD)
are responsible for formulating and implementing environmental policies, including
those on air quality. In 2012-13, the EPD’s estimated expenditure on managing air
quality is $627 million.
2. The existing air quality objectives (AQOs) in Hong Kong were set
in 1987, some 25 years ago. The AQOs stipulate the concentration levels for seven
major air pollutants, of which sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide, and
particulate matters with a diameter of 10 micrometres or less (PM10) are the most
relevant and significant ones in Hong Kong. The major sources of air pollution in
Hong Kong are motor vehicles, marine vessels and power plants as well as
emissions from the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region.
3. Under the Air Pollution Control Ordinance, the EPD, as the Air Pollution
Control Authority, is tasked to aim to achieve the AQOs as soon as is reasonably
practicable and thereafter to maintain the quality so achieved. In the past decade,
through the EPD’s efforts, concentrations of SO2, PM10 and carbon monoxide have
been reduced in Hong Kong. In January 2012, the Government announced that,
based on the Air Quality Guidelines issued in 2006 by the World Health
Organisation, the AQOs in Hong Kong would be revised to more stringent levels
with effect from 2014 (2014 AQOs). To meet the 2014 AQOs, the Government
would, subject to resource availability, implement 22 air-quality improvement
measures.
Download PDF : e59ch02sum

MONITORING AND REPORTING OF AIR QUALITY

Nov 15th, 2012
by Editor.
No comments yet
Executive Summary
1. Air pollution is one of the major problems in Hong Kong. The
Environment Bureau (ENB) and the Environmental Protection Department (EPD)
are responsible for formulating and implementing environmental policies, including
those on air quality. In 2012-13, the EPD’s estimated expenditure on managing air
quality is $627 million.
2. The existing air quality objectives (AQOs) in Hong Kong were set
in 1987, some 25 years ago. The AQOs stipulate the concentration levels for seven
major air pollutants, of which sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and
particulate matters with a diameter of 10 micrometres or less (PM10) are the most
relevant and significant ones in Hong Kong. Since 1999, the EPD has also
compiled an hourly air pollution index (API) for each of the 11 general air-quality
monitoring stations and three roadside stations.
3. In January 2012, the Government announced that, based on the Air
Quality Guidelines (AQGs) issued in 2006 by the World Health Organisation
(WHO), the AQOs in Hong Kong would be revised to more stringent levels with
effect from 2014 (2014 AQOs).
Download PDF : e59ch01sum

PCBs, other pollutants may play role in pregnancy delay

Nov 15th, 2012
by Editor.
No comments yet

NIH study finds delays after exposure to pesticides, industrial chemicals

Couples with high levels of PCBs and similar environmental pollutants take longer to achieve pregnancy in comparison to other couples with lower levels of the pollutants, according to a preliminary study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) are chemicals that have been used as coolants and lubricants in electrical equipment. They are part of a category of chemicals known as persistent organochlorine pollutants and include industrial chemicals and chemical byproducts as well as pesticides. In many cases, the compounds are present in soil, water, and in the food chain. The compounds are resistant to decay, and may persist in the environment for decades. Some, known as persistent lipophilic organochlorine pollutants, accumulate in fatty tissues. Another type, called perfluorochemicals, are used in clothing, furniture, adhesives, food packaging, heat-resistant non-stick cooking surfaces, and the insulation of electrical wire.

Exposure to these pollutants is known to have a number of effects on human health, but their effects on human fertility — and the likelihood of couples achieving pregnancy– have not been extensively studied.

“Our findings suggest that persistent organochlorine pollutants may play a role in pregnancy delay,” said the study’s first author, Germaine Buck Louis, Ph.D., director of the Division of Epidemiology, Statistics, and Prevention Research at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at NIH.

Dr. Buck Louis added that individuals may limit their exposure by removing and avoiding the fat of meat and fish, and by limiting the consumption of animal products.

The study was published online in Environmental Health Perspectives and is available online at http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/2012/11/1204996/. In addition to researchers at the NICHD, the study also included investigators from the Texas A&M Health Science Center, College Station, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Emory University, Atlanta, and The EMMES Corp., Rockville, Md.

To conduct the study, the researchers enrolled 501 couples from four counties in Michigan, and 12 counties in Texas, from 2005 to 2009. The couples were part of the Longitudinal Investigation of Fertility and the Environment (LIFE) study, established to examine the relationship between fertility and exposure to environmental chemicals and lifestyle. An earlier analysis from the LIFE study found that high blood levels of lead and cadmium also were linked to pregnancy delay.

The women taking part in the study ranged from 18 to 44 years of age, and the men were over 18. Couples provided blood samples for the analysis of organochlorines (PCBs) and perfluorochemicals (PFCs). Women kept journals to record their monthly menstrual cycles and the results of home pregnancy tests. The couples were followed until pregnancy or for up to one year of trying.

The researchers calculated the probability that a couple would achieve pregnancy by using a statistical measure called the fecundability odds ratio (FOR). The measure estimates couples’ probability of pregnancy each cycle, based on their blood concentration of the compounds. A ratio less than one suggests a longer time to pregnancy, while a ratio greater than one suggests a shorter time to pregnancy.

The researchers examined PCB congeners, which are single, unique well-defined chemical compounds in the PCB category.

The lowest FORs were seen for couples in which the females were exposed to PCB congener 167 (FOR 0.79); and in which the males were exposed to PCB congener 138 (FOR=0.71). For each standardized increase in chemical concentration the researchers measured, the odds of pregnancy declined by 18 to 21 percent for females exposed to PCB congeners 118, 167, 209, and the perfluorchemical, perfluorooctane sulfonamide. Perfluorooctane sulfonamide is one of a broad class of compounds known as perfluoroalkyls, which have been used in fire fighting foams.

With increasing exposure, the odds for pregnancy declined by 17 to 29 percent for couples in which males were exposed to PCB congeners 138, 156, 157, 167, 170, 172, and 209 and to DDE, produced when the pesticide DDT degrades in the environment. DDT is banned for use in the United States, but is still used in some countries.

The investigators noted that they cannot rule out that some of the delays they observed may have been due to exposure to multiple chemicals. They added that these associations would need to be confirmed by other researchers.

About the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): The NICHD sponsors research on development, before and after birth; maternal, child, and family health; reproductive biology and population issues; and medical rehabilitation. For more information, visit the Institute’s website at http://www.nichd.nih.gov/.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.

NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health ®

http://www.nih.gov/news/health/nov2012/nichd-14.htm

Environmental report on Shek Kwu Chau incinerator fell short, court told

Nov 15th, 2012
by Editor.
No comments yet

Submitted by admin on Nov 15th 2012, 12:00am

News›Hong Kong

COURTS

Austin Chiu austin.chiu@scmp.com

Environmental impact report failed to meet requirements, court is told

The environmental impact report for a massive offshore waste incinerator failed to meet the requirements of a technical memorandum and a study brief from the government, a court heard yesterday.

Lawyer Valentine Yim See-tai made the assertion in the Court of First Instance as a legal challenge to the HK$23 billion project on Shek Kwu Chau, an island south of Lantau, began.

Yim is representing Leung Hon-wai, 66, a resident of nearby Cheung Chau island, in a judicial review challenging decisions by the Town Planning Board and the director of the Environmental Protection Department, which cleared the way for the incinerator’s construction.

Johnny Mok SC, for the government, said the report had met requirements.

Outside court, Leung said: “My family has been living on Cheung Chau for eight generations. We are particularly worried about the air quality and pollution likely to be caused by the incinerator. It is close to the community. We would have no objection if it was elsewhere.”

Leung is one of four people who lodged a judicial challenge to the project. His was selected to proceed and the other applicants will be bound by the decision.

Yim said that one ground for the challenge was the department’s failure to explain, as required, any measures to remedy the loss of an ecologically important 31-hectare marine habitat, home to finless porpoises.

“Our complaint is that the technical memorandum requires that the offsite mitigation measures be made during the environmental impact assessment; now they say ‘let’s deal with it in the further study’,” he said. “There should not be another report. It should have been done in the same round.”

Yim acknowledged that the government had said it would produce a study on establishing a marine park before construction began, adding that this still fell short of requirements.

The report should have included the profile and location of the proposed park, he said.

Yim said the report also failed to explain why no alternatives to an incinerator were considered and no full study of the health effects of various waste-disposal technologies conducted.

“If they discarded alternatives, they should make it clear so people would know they were discarded. If there is no proper assessment, there could be dire consequences,” Yim said.

af3f1fa278313d7005475169ef8d2e8a.jpg

Topics:

Incinerator

Shek Kwu Chau

Lantau

Source URL (retrieved on Nov 15th 2012, 6:11am): http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1082519/environmental-report-shek-kwu-chau-incinerator-fell-short-court-told