Press Releases
Progress of cleaning up plastic pellets scattered on beaches, at sea and in fish culture zones
The Government today (September 12) continued to clean up the
plastic pellets scattered on beaches, at sea and in fish culture zones
after the typhoon.
As at 4pm today, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD)
collected around 0.7 kilograms of plastic pellets. The Marine
Department found the wreckage of the sixth container on September 7.
Apart from the 65 bags of plastic pellets reported on that day, there
were also 150 kilograms of scattered plastic pellets recovered on the
sea surface.
To minimise the impact of the scattering plastic pellets on the
environment, food safety and human health, the Government has adopted
a three-pronged approach in handling the incident, namely (i) cleaning
up plastic pellets on beaches, at sea and in fish culture zones; (ii)
conducting risk assessment on the impact on water quality, the marine
ecology, fish and food safety; and (iii) monitoring closely the
possible impact on mariculturists.
From August 7, relevant government departments, including the
FEHD, the Marine Department, the Leisure and Cultural Services
Department (LCSD), the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation
Department (AFCD) and the Civil Aid Service, collected a total of more
than 12 300 kilograms of plastic pellets. The Marine Police and the
Government Flying Service assisted in tracking the where-about of the
dispersed plastic pellets. Members of the public, green groups,
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and Sinopec International (Hong
Kong) Company Limited participated actively in the clean-up
operations. Members of the Auxiliary Medical Service also provided
support at locations with a large number of cleansing workers and
volunteers.
A Government spokesman pointed out that, by virtue of the
concerted efforts spent on the clean-up operations in the past four to
five weeks, substantive progress has been made. The quantity of
plastic pellets collected recently has dropped consistently to a low
level. From August 20, the Marine Police did not report any new
locations with plastic pellets. Since September 2, the AFCD did not
receive any reports from mariculturists about the presence of plastic
pellets in fish culture zones. From September 4, the FEHD collected
less than 10 kilograms of plastic pellets a day, which is
substantially below the 3 800 kilograms recorded during the peak
period. For the LCSD, no plastic pellets were found on beaches under
its management this week. Meanwhile, the Marine Department managed to
locate on September 7, in waters off Hei Ling Chau Typhoon Shelter,
the wreckage of the sixth container with plastic pellets which fell
into the sea.
The spokesman said, "The concerted efforts of government
departments, members of the public, green groups, NGOs and Sinopec
International (Hong Kong) Company Limited had borne fruit. We believe
that the bulk of the plastic pellets scattered in Hong Kong waters had
largely been cleared.
"In the light of the above, the Government will re-align its mode
of operation, in the interest of ensuring cost-effective deployment of
resources. The FEHD will continue to monitor closely the plastic
pellets collection exercise and suitably deploy its manpower as and
when the need arises. The Marine Police and the Marine Department will
remain vigilant during their daily operations and notify the relevant
departments should any plastic pellets be sighted in the course of
performing their duties."
Should they spot any plastic pellets, members of the public may
call the government's hotline 3142 2288 specifically set up to receive
such reports. Departments concerned will take timely follow-up
actions. The hotline will start operation at 9am on September 13.
Meanwhile, instead of making daily updates relating to the
plastic pellet spill incident, starting from tomorrow, relevant
government departments will keep the public informed of developments
as and when necessary.
The Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, thanked the
community for their active participation in cleaning up plastic
pellets in the past weeks, which has enabled the work to be carried
out smoothly. He said, "I wish to convey my heartfelt thanks to each
and every volunteer for your efforts in cleaning up plastic pellets
scattered on beaches and the coastline of Hong Kong. Your care for the
Hong Kong society and the personal example you have set in protecting
our natural environment will help make Hong Kong a better place to be.
"I would also like to thank colleagues of the departments under
my Bureau for their hard work; as well as those from other government
departments for their full support and solid contributions."
These plastic pellets are chemically inert. Results of tests
conducted by the Government on the pellets so far revealed that the
risks posed to water quality, marine ecology, fish and food safety are
low.
To ensure that food safety is not compromised in any way, the
Centre for Food Safety (CFS) closely monitors marine fish sold on the
market every day. As at September 12, the CFS has tested 810 samples
from fish available for sale. No plastic pellets were detected.
Examinations conducted so far have suggested that the plastic pellet
incident has not caused adverse impact on food safety. Although the
food safety risk remains low, members of the public are well advised
to check and clean fish thoroughly and remove all internal organs
before cooking in order to ensure food safety.
At the same time, the AFCD has been closely monitoring the
possible impact of the incident on mariculturists. So far, the AFCD
did not receive any reports of abnormal fish death at fish culture
zones. As at September 12, the AFCD has tested 93 fish samples
collected from mariculturists. Only trace amounts of plastic pellets
were detected in the early days. The AFCD will continue to maintain
contact with mariculturists to assess whether assistance and support
to them is necessary.
The spokesman said, "The incident demonstrates that both the
Government and the community attach great importance to environmental
protection. Through our concerted efforts, we have kept the impact of
the incident to a minimum."
Ends/Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Issued at HKT 20:30
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