Bulletin Number Two 1984

partly arising from a lack of such information. K.C. Lam : Of the various environmental problems con fronting Hong Kong, noise is the most critical. Hong Kong is the noisiest city in the world and is becoming more so. Air pollution was rather bad in the sixties but is gradually improving. Water pollution has long been a matter o f considerable concern but will soon be put under control by the implementation of the Water Pollution Control Ordinance and the construc tion of sewage treatment works. In the years to come, Hong Kong will find it more and more difficult to dispose of the wastes properly. This is due to the increase in waste generation as a result of increasing affluence, the lack of space for controlled tipping, and the production of hazardous and difficult wastes consequent upon industrial diversification. S. Donnan & T .C Tan: In societies undergoing rapid industrialization and urbanization, such as Hong Kong, there is an inevitable tension betweeen economic development on the one hand, and nuisances and hazards to health on the other. Increased opportunities for employment and improved quality of life have to be balanced against unwanted and yet to some extent unavoidable nuisances and hazards to the health, safety and well- being o f the workers, their families, and also the local community. K. L iu : Air pollution is a prevalent problem of modern societies. Not only does it affect the health of living organisms, but it also impedes the commercial and industrial development. The fact that Hong Kong is densely populated and that its motor vehicles and poorly equipped small-scale factories are continuously releasing all types of exhaust gas, aggravates the problem o f air pollution. S. Tong: Indeed, Hong Kong is a densely populated area with its commerce and industry developing rapidly. However, well formulated strategies for environ­ mental management were not implemented until the 70s; hence many pollution and conservancy problems have emerged. The saving grace is that Hong Kong is predominantly a commercial society and even in its process o f industrialization, light industries take priority over heavy industries, which are usually major sources of pollution. Therefore, its pollution problem is not as serious as those heavy industrial cities. Besides, Hong Kong being an island, natural disposal of wastes into the sea is possible; thereby reducing the health hazards to local residents. K .K . M a rk : Obviously, the rapid increase in population and industries has brought with them many pollution problems. Just take water pollution as an example. Sewage treatment plant is fairly new to Hong Kong, and even the major residential areas of the Hong Kong island and Kowloon do not have any. Each day we are in fact pouring into the surrounding sea and streams sewage produced by five million people, five hundred thousand pigs, one to two millions chickens, ducks and pigeons. So our harbours and streams are extremely polluted. Fortunately, we have very heavy rainfall to flush the streams, very strong tidal current to flush the harbours and even favourable winds to blow the smoke away. Otherwise we would have been in a cesspool. S.T. Chang: Organic wastes exist in abundance in both rural and urban areas. They are produced in every house hold and also in agriculture and industry. When care lessly disposed in the surrounding environment by dumping or burning, these wastes are bound to lead to environmental pollution and become consequently health hazards. K .Y . Chan: Most of the sewage treatment plants in operation in Hong Kong are of the 'secondary' type, which means that only the organic matters and living micro organisms are being removed from the sewage, but large quantities o f inorganic compounds such as phosphates, ammonium and nitrates still remain in the treated sewage effluent. These inorganic com pounds are potential pollutants since they are the basic nutrients of algae and phytoplankton. The usual practice is to discharge the treated sewage effluent