EDDIE LEE EDDIE.LEE@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Monday, 02 November, 2015, 4:15pm
UPDATED : Monday, 02 November, 2015, 6:12pm
Anthony Cheung did not state who should be held responsible for the tainted water scandal. Photo: Felix Wong
The construction industry and government were unaware of health risks posed by lead in material used to solder pipes before the outbreak of the tainted water scandal, Hong Kong’s housing chief said.
“With hindsight, had they been aware of the related risks, the Housing Authority and the Housing Department, I believe, would have put in place measures to prevent [lead from being used],” housing minister Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, who also chairs the authority, today told a judge-led panel responsible for investigating the matter.
Tens of thousands of residents living in several public housing estates found themselves at the centre of a contaminated water scare after tests commissioned by the Democratic Party in June showed that samples taken from tap water at the Kai Ching Estate in Kowloon City contained amounts of lead exceeding World Health Organisation standards. Subsequent tests by the government showed water samples from a number of public housing estates also contained excessive amounts of lead.
The imbroglio raised questions about the administration’s ability to ensure public health and the quality of public housing.
”As soon as I was informed of [the results of the tests], I decided that we needed to enter into emergency mode. I also reported the matter to the chief secretary of the government.” But he added: “We did not want to cause a panic.”
The minister did not state who should be held responsible for the issue.
Nor did he specify whether all the water pipes in public housing estates built after 2005, when construction workers in the city began using lead in soldering material in connecting pipes, needed to be replaced.
Apart from Cheung, about 20 incumbent and retired housing officials, including one of the deputy directors of housing, chief architects and chief building services engineers responsible for the 11 public housing projects in question, will give evidence.
Three officials from the Water Supplies Department will also testify, including its director.
The two-man panel is chaired by High Court judge Mr Justice Andrew Chan Hing-wai, with former ombudsman Alan Lai Nin as commissioner.
The hearings are slated to continue into January.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1874945/hong-kong-lead-water-scandal-government-unaware
