Air
Quality Objectives
Mobile
Pollution Sources
Stationary
Pollution Sources
Regional
Smog Problem
Co-operation
between Guangdong and Hong Kong
Enhanced
Air Pollution Control Measures in Hong Kong
Emissions
Reduction by Guangdong
At present, Hong
Kong faces two different types of air pollution, namely, local pollution
caused by vehicles and power plants and regional air pollution.
This paper sets out the strategies of the Hong Kong SAR Government
(HKSARG) for tackling these two types of problems.
Air
Quality Objectives
The overall policy
objective for air quality management in Hong Kong is to achieve
as soon as reasonably practicable and to maintain thereafter an
acceptable level of air quality to safeguard the health and well
being of the citizens. In this regard, Air
Quality Objectives (AQOs) for seven widespread air pollutants
were established in 1987 under the Air Pollution Control Ordinance
(APCO). In line with international practices, these AQOs are derived
from scientific analyses of the relationship between pollutant concentrations
in the air and the associated adverse effects of the polluted air
on the health of the public. The AQOs adopted by Hong Kong have
been developed mainly with reference to researches in the United
States (US) and the situation in Hong Kong. Therefore, our AQOs
are generally similar to those of the US.
Ideally, the lower
the concentration of air pollutants, the better. However, as pointed
out in the Air Quality Guidelines for Europe published by the World
Health Organization (WHO), considerations such as the prevailing
exposure levels, technical feasibility, source control measures,
abatement strategies, and social, economic and cultural conditions
should be taken into account when setting air quality standards
for a particular place. The rationale is that to adopt too stringent
a standard would be pointless as nobody is able to comply. There
is no international standard as such for the calculation of air
pollution indices (APIs) as conditions within a standard may differ.
The EU's AQOs allow for multiple exceedances: the hourly average
sulphur dioxide (SO2) standard may be exceeded 24 times a year,
whereas only three times a year are allowed in Hong Kong. For Respirable
Suspended Particulates (RSP), the EU allows the daily average RSP
standard to be exceeded on 35 days in a year, whereas the relevant
AQO of Hong Kong only allows one day of exceedance.
The Government
has all along been closely monitoring the researches and reviews
on air quality standards conducted by different places. We will
make reference to the latest international standards and practices,
in particular those of the EU and the US, as well as the on-going
local studies by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD),
when considering the need for revising Hong Kong's AQOs from a scientific
perspective and the local applicability of the revised AQOs.
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