Bulletin Number Two 1984

o f accident; (3) its general impact on the environment o f Shatin and Tai Po. It is very likely that to solve all these problems, the cost for the project w ill escalate. In U.S.A. a few nuclear plants have already been closed down as a result o f cost escalation and severe criticisms from the public. What type o f industries w ill cause the m ost serious health hazards? D o lo cal factories generally provide the necessary measures to p ro te c t the health o f the workers and the environm ent? S. Donnan T.C. Tan: The extent o f health and safety hazards and nuisances created by industries to the community at large is real yet complex to ascertain, as it involves measuring a combination o f physical, chemical, bio logical and psycho-social variables. Local industries operate in terms o f economic gains and must do so w ithin the confines o f the respective legal requirements. Failure to comply w ith legal guidelines may endanger the lives and limbs o f workers and members o f the community, which is the most effective deterrent at present. However, a more positive inducement to industries to be concerned about the workers and their environment is that healthy workers and a safe working environment increase work productivity and result in economic gain. This is the chief selling point to industries o f the occupational health and safety o f workers. There is some evidence that many industries and factories, especially small enterprises, pay little regard to the safety o f working conditions, or wane in enthusiasm after a short time. F. Chen: According to the Labour Department's statistics, one o f the most frequently occurred occupational diseases caused by pollution is silicosis. In 1981, there were 446 notifications o f silicosis, and 191 cases were confirmed; in 1982, there were over 500 notified cases; and in 1983 ， there were also over 500 notified cases. Generally speaking, in Hong Kong, air pollution, a main cause o f silicosis, occurs more frequently in quarries, construction sites and some factories which involve metal moulding or dyeing. The management o f the factories or work sites in Hong Kong usually try to prevent or control pollution problems by having better designed funnels for letting out fumes, exhaust ventilation systems, or having workers wear masks or respirators. Noise pollution occurs more frequently in con­ struction sites, metal workshops and other factories such as weaving and spinning mills. The usual preven­ tive measures taken in factories in Hong Kong are 'noise isolation' and ‘noise filtering'. In larger factories which have better financial support, the machines might have sound isolation devices or facilities to reduce the effects o f the primary noise sources. And some factories would confine noise pollution in certain areas o f the work sites by putting the machines in confined rooms. The factories would let workers wear ear muffs or ear plugs when they are at work. K .K . M a rk : Tanning industries cause a high level o f the heavy metal chromium in the streams. Electro-plating industries use a lo t o f cyanide (half a ton per year), which is discharged into the environment, and cyanide is extremely toxic. Film and photographic industries discharge a lo t o f silver, another form o f heavy metal, into the environment. Electric companies and incinceration plants generate a lo t o f smoke, which may cause air pollution. Ifeel that Hong Kong industries are very far behind those o f developed countries in providing protection for its workers and the environment. For one thing, most industries are for quick money, but protection o f workers and the environment obviously is expensive and is cutting into their earning power. Besides, many managers are quite ignorant about the danger being brought about. Textile is one o f our major industries, and it is regrettable that few managers ask their workers to use gauze masks to prevent the cotton or other fabric in the air from being inhaled into the lung. Compared w ith more advanced countries, is Hong K o n g doing enough to conserve and p ro te c t its environment? K .K . M a rk : Comparing w ith more advanced countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, Hong