Hong Kong's foul breath sickens
2002-05-04 08:13
Hong Kong - Air pollution in Hong Kong is to blame for 17 500 hospital cases every year, according to a university study released on Friday.
Most of these are respiratory or cardiovascular illnesses
caused by the territory's growing pollution problem, which is also responsible for up to 75 000 hospital bed-days annually.
The study, carried out by the University of Hong Kong, comes at a time of growing concern over the effect of air pollution on
health and tourism.
Hong Kong's famous skyline is already often obscured by smog.
Tourists climbing the Peak, the island's high point, to take a
photo of the view touted as spectacular in promotional material, are more likely to find a sea of haze.
A recently released new edition of the Lonely Planet guidebook
for Hong Kong highlighted the problem by showing the territory's
famous Victoria Harbour skyline shrouded in mist.
Professor Anthony Hedley, chairperson of community medicine at Hong Kong University, said ordinary people are being affected by pollutants.
Roadside air quality improved
"It is certain that normal, fit and healthy people breathing
Hong Kong air are experiencing a gradual deterioration in lung
function which will take its toll in later life," he said.
Hedley said even days when the pollution level was not high
enough to warrant one of the government's warnings, were dangerous.
"What we need to do is to bring the average level down by
something like 50% to 80%," he said.
Air quality in Hong Kong became a major issue in the late 1990s when thick smog regularly enveloped the territory, caused by a combination of vehicle fumes and pollution from southern Chinese factories in the Pearl River Delta.
The government claims to have improved roadside air quality with a series of measures aimed at cutting pollution caused by cars, including replacing diesel taxis with more environmentally friendly liquefied petroleum vehicles.
Earlier this week, it announced a joint pledge with the southern Chinese province of Guangdong to drastically cut emission levels of four pollutants known to be worsening air quality by 2010. - Sapa-DPA
- SAPA