Pollution Unit Crashes
Article in the SCMP Sunday December 9, page A2
Pollution unit crashes after high reading
The roadside station detecting air pollution in Central broke down a few hours after it recorded the highest air pollution reading of the year.
A spokesman for the Environmental Protection Department, which manages the station, said the non-functioning unit would not be repaired until tomorrow.
But environmentalist Edward Chan Yue-fai, of Greenpeace, said it should be repaired as soon as possible although people could get an idea of air quality by reading data from the other two roadside stations, in Causeway Bay and Mong Kok.
The results are posted on the department's website.
The absence of data from the station meant that the overall roadside reading was downgraded to 'high' from 'very high' in the afternoon. The goverment website ceased showing the Central roadside ststion's data from about 2pm yesterday, shortly after recording a reading of 103.
Readings above 100 are deemed 'very high'.
Yesterday was another badly polluted day for Hong Kong. Mong Kok and Causeway Bay recorded high air pollution levels, and Mong Kok's index rose slightly above 100 in the morning. The year's record high of 151 was detected at the roadside station in Central on Friday. The highest reading ever recorded (174) was on March 29, 2000.
Friends of the Earth environmental affairs manager Hahn Chu Honkeung said it was not uncommon for the detectors to break down. He said the public should be aware that air quality in crowded districts such as Central was usually poor despite a lack of scientific data.
'Indexes taken from roadside stations usually show poor air quality, meaning that the public should be aware of their health when going to these congested districts,' he said.
'Even when fairly satisfactory indexes are shown, they are usually not up to standard according to the one formulated by the World Health Organisation'.
So don't just take my word for it - read the papers! The inescapable fact is that the pollution here is disgusting.
For those considering a job here in Hong Kong, (not just aviation, any job...), it has to be a major factor in determining whether the remuneration or career progression is worth the health risk to you and your family.
For those here in Hong Kong already, it must be a factor in determining just 'how much is enough'! There are those that have left the Company recently, particularly junior officers, because the combined effect of the Cat B system, CoS08 (the attendant risk to command progression in event of industry slowdown), apallingly inadequate imposed pay rise, compel junior officers to look elsewhere.
The pollution, always a constant stressor in Hong Kong, appears to be the straw that breaks the camels back for some.