Pollution measures don't go far enough, Greens say
The Environmental Protection Department has proposed measures to tackle the exceptionally bad air pollution induced by sandstorms, but green groups say the measures are nothing new and lack details.
The measures stem from a department review after it was criticised for failing to issue an advance warning when a sandstorm from across the border pushed the city's air pollution index off the 500-point scale, on March 22 and 23.
Environment officials said they spotted an unusual rise in particle concentration on Sunday night but did not issue a warning through the government information services until six hours later, when most people were asleep.
During the sandstorm the concentration of the main pollutants - tiny suspended particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs - was at least 15 times the World Health Organisation's recommended maximum.
Among the measures is a request by the department that the two power companies increase their use of cleaner fuels to minimise local emissions when the air pollution index hits a severe level.
But Edwin Lau Che-feng, director of Friends of the Earth, said he would like to know more details about how the power companies will switch to cleaner fuels on bad pollution days.
'For example, should it lower its coal use from being 30 per cent of the fuel mix to say, 10 or 15 per cent? Clearer guidelines are better if you expect the power companies to follow the plan,' he said.
The department also said it would not operate the waste incinerator in Tsing Yi on days when the pollution was very bad.
Prentice Koo Wai-muk, a Greenpeace campaigner, said he was disappointed the measures were 'not new' and urged the government to step up the work of an inter-departmental working group on climate change, which was set up to find strategies to tackle the issue.
Other measures will see the Observatory step up its role by monitoring sandstorms on the mainland and providing regular trajectory analysis, satellite images and weather reports to environmental officials.
The environmental department will be responsible for monitoring air quality information from the mainland and Taiwan to detect early on the impact of a sandstorm on air quality. It will also alert the Education Bureau, Social Welfare Department and Labour Department so that they can advise schools, employers and outdoor workers.
And should a sandstorm occur, notices will be put up at public leisure facilities to alert users of the severe air pollution and provide them with health advice.
Lau said something should also be done to cut the number of buses on the roads, such as reducing the number during off-peak hours.
Bad for your health
During the sandstorm in March, the air pollution index went off the scale, measuring more than: 500
