Bulletin Number Two 1984

directly into the coastal water. In areas where tidal exchange is lim ited or slow, algal and phytoplankton blooms occur as a consequence o f this treated sewage disposal and eventually lead to water pollution problems in these water bodies. The increasing pollution in Tolo Harbour is a typical example which illustrates the point. It has been reported that under certain circumstances, the sudden increase in the amounts o f inorganic nutrients is one major factor leading to the occurrence o f ‘red tide' which causes heavy mortality o f fish and bivalves. Y.K. Chan: How to conserve the living environment o f a densely populated metropolitan is a d ifficu lt problem to solve. Although the adaptability o f human beings to a crowded living environment is said to be better than other animals, social and psychological effects o f crowdedness on man have to be confirmed by research. Adaptability depends a lo t on the social and cultural background o f every individual group. Nevertheless, over concentration o f population and crowdedness is invariably a bad thing. Pollution and public hygienic problems are often closely related w ith rapid population increase. In densely populated areas, not only w ill the room for movement be lim ited but also it w ill be d ifficu lt to avoid all kinds o f unnecessary or unwanted social contacts, and the chances for conflicts w ill thus be increased. In such a small and crowded place like Hong Kong, the buildings are bound to be high-rise. In multi-storey buildings, the density problem is coupled w ith the 'high-rise problem'. I f the people stay at home more often because they are living on the upper storeys, then they would spend more time in the lim ited space o f their home, and the, effects o f high density on them w ill be more serious. Therefore, as we pay more attention to the protection o f the natural environment we should also be more concerned about the man-made environment —the high-rise and increasingly densely populated living environment. In H o ng Kong, what steps have been and cou ld be taken to c o n tro l p o llu tio n and im prove its environ ment? K .K . M a rk : Although Government has taken some steps to control pollution, one o f them being the laying down o f some legislation, a lo t more need to be done and to be done quickly. Environmental protection is expensive and needs coordination, and has to be initiated and pushed by the Government. Academics o f both local universities have conducted some surveys to give a better understanding o f the situation, thereby helping the Government to formulate its policies and draw up plans in this respect. K , L iu : As a result o f the rising educational standard o f Hong Kong people, there is an awareness o f air pollu tion problems. In the late 70s, the Government set up a special task force to manage air pollution problems and established fixed or mobile stations to collect data on the pollutants. Such surveys have also been conducted by non-govemmental consultants. K.C. Lam : Within the Hong Kong Government machinery, environmental protection is vested in the Environ mental Affairs Division o f the Government Secretariat. This Division is responsible for the overall formulation and coordination o f government policy relating to the environment, such as land use, transport, urban services, new town development and pollution control. The day to day environmental protection work is organized into a two-tier structure comprising a central nucleus o f specialists, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and a series o f control units in various government departments. Apart from being responsible for developing policy for environmental protection and overseeing the implementation o f environmental legislation, the work o f EPA also involves establishing quality objectives, long-term monitoring o f environmental quality and assessing and advising on the impact o f major new develop ments. Pollution control units in various government departments are responsible for enforcing regulations, issuing licences and providing surveillance and control over individual discharges and emissions. S. Donnan & T.C. Tan: Discomfort, disability, disease or even death arise from accidents at work or from work-related