A CONFIDENTIAL report by an engineer identifies defects in fire protection systems at Hong Kong's largest power stations, China Light and Power's (CLP) Castle Peak A and B, and urges immediate action be taken.
Aspects of the systems are described as illegal, inadequate and poorly maintained in the report by the CLP fire protection engineer, who also names the Tsing Yi plant for defects to its fire main and hydrant.
But CLP chief operating officer, Keith Stott, yesterday denied the defects were serious and rejected suggestions fire safety was being compromised at Castle Peak, scene of a 1992 explosion which killed two engineers.
''I'm not trying to play this down, but it represents an extremely small portion of our overall fire protection system,'' Mr Stott said.
Defects in the systems, which are designed to limit death, injury and damage in the event of a fire, make it a ''potential hazard'' to the coal-fired power stations, according to the late-January report.
Leaking hydrants, illegal water connections, leaking detection lines and a drencher system that is ''out of maintenance'' are among 17 problems identified by the engineer in a dossier to Mr Stott.
''Of course, it's not satisfactory. We are not saying it is. We will give it the normal attention and it's rolled in with the 3,000 defects we have every week,'' Mr Stott said.
