Chan Hon-fai
Guangdong officials had never carried out tests to check Dongjiang River for perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) – the synthetic chemical which the environmental group Greenpeace said was found in Hong Kong's reservoirs.
This was revealed by the chairman of the SAR’s Advisory Committee on Water Resources and Quality of Water Supplies, who had travelled to the mainland to inspect the facilities there on Tuesday.
Dr Chan Hon-fai said the officials there were unaware whether this possibly-harmful chemical was present in the Dongjiang River, which is Hong Kong's major source for fresh water.
Chan said the mainland officials have now pledged to keep an eye on garment factories along the river, which Greenpeace says are possible source of the pollutant.
“They took our concern, and they will try to investigate if they will incorporate PFCs into their monitoring plan,” Chan said.
Earlier this month, Greenpeace said it found higher levels of PFCs in the Plover Cove, Tai Lam Chung, and High Island reservoirs – all of which store water from the river.
Water samples from Plover Cove had the highest concentration of PFCs at 15.4 nanograms per litre. Significantly lower levels of PFCs were discovered in two other local reservoirs that store rainwater.
Earlier, a chief Water Supplies Department chemist Kelvin Kwok told RTHK that the very low levels of PFCs found in local reservoirs pose no health risk to the public. He also gave assurances that the department regularly checks PFC levels.
There is no universal safety level for PFC currently. Some countries have set safety levels of just over 5 nanogrammes per litre. In the US, anything containing more than 200 nanogrammes per litre in drinking water is considered unsafe for consumption.
This was revealed by the chairman of the SAR’s Advisory Committee on Water Resources and Quality of Water Supplies, who had travelled to the mainland to inspect the facilities there on Tuesday.
Dr Chan Hon-fai said the officials there were unaware whether this possibly-harmful chemical was present in the Dongjiang River, which is Hong Kong's major source for fresh water.
Chan said the mainland officials have now pledged to keep an eye on garment factories along the river, which Greenpeace says are possible source of the pollutant.
“They took our concern, and they will try to investigate if they will incorporate PFCs into their monitoring plan,” Chan said.
Earlier this month, Greenpeace said it found higher levels of PFCs in the Plover Cove, Tai Lam Chung, and High Island reservoirs – all of which store water from the river.
Water samples from Plover Cove had the highest concentration of PFCs at 15.4 nanograms per litre. Significantly lower levels of PFCs were discovered in two other local reservoirs that store rainwater.
Earlier, a chief Water Supplies Department chemist Kelvin Kwok told RTHK that the very low levels of PFCs found in local reservoirs pose no health risk to the public. He also gave assurances that the department regularly checks PFC levels.
There is no universal safety level for PFC currently. Some countries have set safety levels of just over 5 nanogrammes per litre. In the US, anything containing more than 200 nanogrammes per litre in drinking water is considered unsafe for consumption.
http://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1228677-20151209.htm
