Sai Kung Sector Air Pollution

Geographical characteristics and popultaion Sai Kung District covers area of 12,680 hectares and has a population of: Sai Kung Central – Pak Sha Wan – Sai Kung Islands – Hang Hau East –

Map

Why do I scope on air pollution ? Air Pollution is a very serious problem in Hong Kong and thus, Sai Kung. Although, Sai Kung is an outlying area, so the situation is not that bad right mow, as amongst the skyscrapers in downtown. But without taking appropriate steps, it will change to worse. Main Concerns

Air pollution can make you sick. It can cause burning eyes and nose itchy, irritated throat, as well as trouble in breathing. Some chemicals found in polluted air cause cancer, birth defects, brain and nerve damage and long-term injury to the lungs and breathing passages. Some air pollutants are so dangerous that accidental releases can cause serious injury or even death.

Air pollution can damage the environment - Trees, lakes and animals have been harmed by air pollution. Air pollutants have thinned the protective ozone layer above the Earth - this loss of ozone could cause changes in the environment as well as more skin cancer and eye damages in people. Air pollution can damage property - It can dirty buildings and other structures. Some common pollutants eat away stone, damaging buildings, monuments and statues. Air pollution can cause haze, reducing visibility in cities and national parks and sometime interfering with aviation.

General Guidelines

Clear Air Act Was passed by US congress in 1963, last amended in It requires to set national Ambient Air Quality Standards for pollutants considered harmful to public health and environment. Those standards were divided into two categories:

Primary standards They set limits to protect public health, including „sensitive” population such as asthmatics, children and the elderly

Secondary Standards They set limits to protect public welfare, including protection against decreased visibility, damage to animals, crops, vegetation and buildings Unit of measure for the standards, are parts per million (ppm) by volume, milligrams per cubic meter of air (mg/m3), and micrograms per cubic meter of air (µg/m3).

Hong Kong Government Air Pollution Index The Air Pollution Index (API) is a simple tool to describe air quality in Hong Kong. It is in the form of scale from 0 to 500, which is calculated from several sets of air pollution data (6 main pollutants)

Air Pollution Index in Hong Kong 15:00 21-Oct-2006

Station Placement There is no Station located near Sai Kung !

There are six common air pollutants : One of the ground level air pollutant, that causes human health problems and damages the environment is ozone. It is also the main ingredient of urban smog VOC + NOx + Sunlight = Ozone Particulate Matter – in another words a particle pollution or PM – it is a complex amalgam of extremely small particles and liquid droplets. It is mainly consists of acids (like nitrates and sulfates), organic chemicals, metals, soil and dust particles

Carbon monoxide, is a odorless, colorless gas which is formed when carbon in fuel is not burned Completely. It is a component of motor vehicle exhaust. Massive improvements in emission control technology and vehicles, reduced it’s emissions

Nitrogen oxides, in another words NOx, it’s a group of gases, in which all of them Can find nitrogen and oxygen in varying amounts. They are mainly color and odorless. However, nitrogen dioxide NO2 which is common pollutant, can be seen as a brown-reddish layer over urban areas.

Sulfur dioxide, in another words SO2. Those gases are easily dissolvable in water. SO gases are formed during burning of fuel that contains coal or oil or during gasoline extraction from oils.

Lead is a metal, which is found naturally in the environment, as well as in manufactured Goods. Historically, the major source of lead have been motor vehicles (cars, trucks, etc.) but now highest level of lead emission is in the metal processing sector.