Leakage of chlorine 'only minor'

AN interim report on the January 25 chlorine leakage at the Sheung Shui treatment works plant made public yesterday, described it as ''only a minor one which did not affect the nearby residents and the operation of the plant''.

A spokesman for the Water Supplies Department said an investigation had shown the incident had been caused by a minor defect in the connection point between the feeding pipe and the chlorine storage drum which had led to about two kilograms of chlorine leaking.

''However, all the leaked gas was confined to the chlorine room,'' he said. The spokesman also stressed that a detection alarm system installed at the Sheung Shui plant had been triggered automatically when the leakage occurred.