There was no rule to test water for lead and solder was 'insignificant' issue, official tells inquiry
EDDIE LEEeddie.lee@scmp.com
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 05 November, 2015, 12:01am
UPDATED : Thursday, 05 November, 2015, 3:24am
Ada Fung appears at the inquiry yesterday. Photo: Felix Wong
Soldering material was regarded as an "insignificant sundry item" by the developer of public housing, a top official responsible for supervising such schemes told an inquiry into contaminated drinking water at 11 estates.
"The Housing Authority had not considered solder [used to connect pipes] a high-risk item that needed to be inspected separately," said Deputy Director of Housing Ada Fung Yin-suen.
Giving evidence yesterday on the third day of the hearing into the scandal, Fung said the housing regulator had focused on the functional performance of the water supply installations.
"We need to make sure pipes won't burst," Fung said, adding that they had always sought expert advice from the industry and the Water Supplies Department on issues of water quality.
Fung, an architect by profession, said soldered pipes had all along been seen only as a part of the plumbing works.
Neither soldering materials delivered to construction sites nor the components soldered onto the works had ever been individually checked by site staff before the water safety scare broke, Fung said.
She was asked by Paul Shieh Wing-tai SC, representing the commission of inquiry, why the authority had never tested for excessive lead in tap water.
A new water pipe being installed at Kai Ching Estate in Kai Tak. Photo: May Tse
Fung said water quality inspections were based on parameters including acidity, water colour and turbidity, set out by the water authorities. She reiterated that lead levels were not required to be tested before the scandal was exposed in the summer.
"Tests had been carried out for health protection purposes," she said, adding she had not been aware of the health risks posed by excessive lead in soldering materials used on pipes.
"Solder only accounts for a very small part of the total construction cost," Fung said.
"Had they known the problem, few people in the construction industry would have taken the risk and used soldering materials that contained lead."
But High Court judge Mr Justice Andrew Chan Hing-wai, chairman of the inquiry, questioned whether every subcontractor or contract plumber could ignore the amount saved by using cheaper solder that contained lead.
"It is a well-known fact that robbery is an imprisonable offence. Some still commit the crime, however," Chan said.
Fung said the authorities had tightened controls on soldering material since the discovery of the lead in drinking water.
Excessive lead was found in materials used to solder pipes in flats on 11 public housing estates, prompting the government to set up the commission to investigate.
The inquiry will ascertain the causes of excess lead found in drinking water and make recommendations to ensure water safety. The hearings will continue into January.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1875745/burst-pipes-were-bigger-worry-soldering-material
