Hong Kong concrete test result shocks Jiayu Garden flat owners
Jiayu Garden residents voice alarm that the salt level in their sample is just below Hong Kong's maximum limit and exceeds mainland findings
Flat owners of Shenzhen's Jiayu Garden, who suspect that the developer had used cheap sea sand in the concrete, are shocked to learn that a sample from their block barely passed Hong Kong's standard for chloride ions.
Hundreds of them had staged protests in the past few weeks despite the government's assurance that their flats are safe.
The sample, provided by a flat owner at Block 8B, contained 0.34 per cent chloride ions, just below the maximum limit of 0.35 per cent, according to a laboratory test that The South China Morning Post commissioned.
MateriaLab, a private firm accredited by the Hong Kong government, conducted the test.
The finding shows a higher level of chloride ions than the tests - using methodologies different to MateriaLab's - by Shenzhen and national authorities, who respectively said they found 0.099 per cent and 0.111 per cent choride ions in the basement wall of Block 8. The national standard is 0.30 per cent.
The private residential estate in Longgang district was among 14 major building projects in Shenzhen that were put on hold last month as local government officials tested concrete samples for untreated sea sand after a national television expose triggered concerns over building safety.