10 Summary of Outcomes

Table 10.1 Summary of Key Environmental Outcomes, Impacts and Mitigation Measures

Area/Issue	Environmental Outcomes, Impacts and Mitigation Measures
Environmental/ Social Benefits of the Project	The New Acute Hospital (NAH) in the Kai Tak Development Area (KTDA) will be a new major acute general hospital located in central Kowloon region, and will provide 24-Hour Accident and Emergency services and be a designated trauma center. The proposed rooftop helipad on the Acute Block of the NAH will be constructed tentatively between Q4 2023 to Q4 2024 and is expected to be in operation in 2025. Since the NAH is located in the heart of Kowloon, with the proposed rooftop helipad, the time required to transfer trauma patients will be significantly shortened compared to the existing helipads at Tuen Mun Hospital (TMH), Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital (PYNEH) and the planned helipad at Queen Mary Hospital (QMH). The proposed helipad can be operated in conjunction with GFS Kai Tak Division which is located at 1.5km away when major disasters occur involving a large number of patients. It also provides an alternative when the existing helipads are not available due to adverse weather conditions or any other possible reasons. The major components of the Project are the construction of helipad structure, safety walkway, access ramp, staircase and noise barrier. There will be no additional foundation and superstructure implications of the Project, the potential environmental impacts arising from the construction of helipad will be small.
Air Quality	Construction of the proposed helipad is predicted not to cause significant dust impacts while the helipad structure will be pre-fabricated off-site outside Hong Kong territories and assembled on-site. Potential causes of pollution may arise from the limited amount of equipment. Adverse dust impacts would not be anticipated with the implementation of good site practices. For operational phase, since the expected average daily emergency helicopter operations would be less than one per day based on records for current operations at existing hospital helipads, the helicopter emissions are expected to be minimal. Based on the short-term and infrequent nature of the emergency helicopter movements, only the 10-minute average SO₂ concentration AQO would be relevant and would therefore be assessed. The cumulative SO₂ (10-mins) air quality impacts arising from helicopter and marine emissions have been quantitatively assessed using AERMOD in accordance with “Guidelines on Choice of Models and Model Parameters” issued by EPD. In addition, NOx emission from helicopter will also be generated but it will be off-settled by the use of electric vehicles and the environmental paver. The assessment results concluded that the air quality impacts would be insignificant and no mitigation measure would be required.
Hazard to Life	The potential hazard to life impacts during the construction and operation of the proposed helipad associated with the Kerry Dangerous Goods Warehouse (KDWG) and LPG Filling Station at Cheung Yip Street have been reviewed. A Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) has been carried out. Both individual risk and societal risk have been assessed and it has been concluded that, despite the additional impact due to the proposal helipad, the individual risk associated with KDGW and the LPG filling station would be acceptable with respect to the Individual Risk Criterion of off-site individual risk not to exceed 1 × 10^-5 / year. The societal risk is presented in the form of FN curves for comparison against the societal risk criteria. The result shows that the FN curves for both the assessed years, namely 2025 and 2036, lie within the Acceptable Region of the risk criteria. Therefore, both the individual risk and societal risk meet the criteria of the Hong Kong Risk Guidelines and no mitigation measures are required.
Noise	The estimated construction noise generated from the Project site is not predicted to be significant, as the construction duration is short and no heavy construction works, such as foundation or demolition works, are involved. The cumulative construction noise impacts at the nearby NSRs have been assessed and are within the construction noise criteria. Construction noise control measures in accordance with EPD’s ProPECC PN 2/93 to be implemented are recommended to further minimise the noise levels. Key potential operational noise impacts would arise from the helicopter operation. Mitigation measures include setback of the helipad from the closest NSRs and the provision of a noise barrier and noise reducers in order to provide screening and noise attenuation. It is found that all the noise sensitive receivers (NSRs) with exceedance of daytime helicopter noise criteria in the unmitigated scenario, i.e. approximate the top 12 floors of NSR P01b for the Kai Tak Development Site 3E1, could be protected by the direct noise mitigation measures. Also, the design and selection of flight paths have been optimised to avoid flying over the noise sensitive areas and the helipad usage is anticipated to be less than once per day according to the GFS records from other existing emergency medical service helipads. With all practical mitigation measures implemented, the helicopter noise impacts are expected to be minimised and the predicated helicopter noise levels at the representative NSRs would comply with the relevant noise criteria.
Waste Management	The proposed helipad will be constructed using a steel/ aluminum structure which will be pre-fabricated off-site outside Hong Kong territories and no concreting works would be carried out on-site or off-site. Minimal quantities of non-inert C&D waste, general refuse and chemical waste from the construction site would be generated, with all the non-inert C&D waste being recyclable. Insignificant amount of general refuse would be expected during operational phase as the usage of the helipad is estimated to be less than once a day. No adverse impacts in relation to waste management would be anticipated with the implementation of suitable mitigation measures, such as the requirements as stipulated in the ETWB TC(W) No.19/2005.
Visual	The Project is situated in center of Kowloon where the surrounding area is comprised of high rise buildings of hospital, commercial and residential uses. It is considered that the visual amenity in the area is low and the presence of the helipad structure is considered to be compatible with the surroundings. The key issue associated with visual impacts relates to the lighting of the helipad and lights on the helicopter during nighttime operations. The potential impacts to the nearby visual sensitive receivers (VSRs) have been assessed in terms of helicopter landing lights and the helipad perimeter lights. Both types of lights would only be switched on during the helicopter approach and landing and the duration is short (7 minutes) and infrequent. It is concluded that the lighting during the nighttime would not cause significant impacts. The use of laminated glass as a material for the noise barrier will have a low reflectance level that can minimise any glare impact during the daytime. Therefore, it is concluded that adverse visual impacts during the operational phase are insignificant and acceptable and, with the implementation of recommended mitigation measures, no residual impacts are expected.
Water Quality	Potential construction run-off, accidental spillage and sewage effluent would have the potential to cause water quality impacts to the nearby water bodies in the vicinity. However, as the proposed helipad will be constructed by prefabricated steel/ aluminum, with no concreting works being proposed, the amount of wastewater and surface run-off generated is expected to be very limited. Through implementation of the appropriate measures in accordance with the guidelines stipulated in The Professional Persons Environmental Consultative Committee Practice Note on Construction Site Drainage (ProPECC PN1/94), site run-off and accidental spillage will be properly controlled to minimise water quality impacts and no adverse impacts during the construction phase are predicted. During the operation phase, the effluent from the emergency fire-fighting system in the form of foam will be discharged to, and combined with, the daily sewage from the New Acute Hospital and ultimately discharge to the sewage treatment plant for treatment. The foam discharge would comprise only around 1% of the total discharge per day and be significantly diluted when combined with the sewage from the NAH. No significant adverse water quality impacts to the environment are expected during the operational phase.

10.0 Summary of Environmental Outcomes

10.1 Introduction