'Burst pipes were a bigger worry' than soldering material, Hong Kong housing official tells water contamination inquiry
There was no rule to test water for lead and solder was 'insignificant' issue, official tells inquiry
Soldering material was regarded as an "insignificant sundry item" by the developer of public housing, a top official responsible for supervising such schemes told an inquiry into contaminated drinking water at 11 estates.
"The Housing Authority had not considered solder [used to connect pipes] a high-risk item that needed to be inspected separately," said Deputy Director of Housing Ada Fung Yin-suen.
Giving evidence yesterday on the third day of the hearing into the scandal, Fung said the housing regulator had focused on the functional performance of the water supply installations.
"We need to make sure pipes won't burst," Fung said, adding that they had always sought expert advice from the industry and the Water Supplies Department on issues of water quality.
Fung, an architect by profession, said soldered pipes had all along been seen only as a part of the plumbing works.
Neither soldering materials delivered to construction sites nor the components soldered onto the works had ever been individually checked by site staff before the water safety scare broke, Fung said.