Foul air rises over landfill expansion
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E-mail China Daily, September 30, 2013
Risky business
According to the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department, an environmental impact assessment for the expansion plan was carried out and approved by the Legislative Council in 2009.
The report covered air quality, health risks and ecology, and concluded that, with "mitigation measures", the potential impact from the construction and operation of the project would be "acceptable and controlled to within the established standards and guidelines", the authority said in a statement.
"We consider it (the expansion at Tuen Mun) would not cause any adverse impact on Nanshan district, which is ... separated (from Hong Kong) by the open and windy bay."
Residents in the Shenzhen suburbs disagree, and argue that their interests are being ignored.
The landfill is a "timebomb" that could result in mud flows, explosions and water pollution, according to Ao Jiannan, who runs the Environment Protection Unit, which is affiliated to the Nanshan district government.
"No one wants to see and smell waste when they open their windows every day," he said. "The Hong Kong government should at least have had to inform us first before they made the proposal to expand the landfill."
He said the placement of the Tuen Mun landfill and a nearby waste treatment facility are both wrong, as they are too close to residential communities.
"Originally Tuen Mun was a rural area, but Nanshan is developing across the river very fast, with a growing population and more buildings. Any expansion of the landfill will jeopardize future development," he warned.
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'Obnoxious projects'
The dispute over Tuen Mun is not the first environmental clash between the neighboring cities.
Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant, which is in Shenzhen, has long been a controversial topic. When it was built in the 1980s, more than 1 million people in Hong Kong signed a petition protesting against the construction due to concerns over nuclear contamination and water pollution.
In 2010, there was further outcry in the SAR when it was reported a fuel tube at the plant had leaked. China Light & Power, a shareholder in the facility, confirmed in a statement there had been a small leak, but said it fell below international standards requiring them to report it as a safety issue.
More recently, on Aug 28, the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department revealed a pollution case in July involving Ta Kwu Ling landfill, which is roughly 1 km from the Liantang suburbs of Shenzhen.
Sewage had leaked into the Shenzhen River, causing cross-border contamination, the authority said.
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