A joint venture between ATAL Engineering Limited and Belgoprocess N.V. has been awarded a Design-Build-Operate contract by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) for the design, construction and operation of a Low Level Radioactive Waste Storage Facility (LRWF).

This is the first facility of its kind in Hong Kong for storage of low level radioactive waste and is also the first direct contract with the Environmental Protection Department (EPD), which achieves a remarkable milestone for the environmental engineering business of ATAL.

The Contract includes the design and construction of the new facility, the transfer of existing waste to the new facility, and the operation and maintenance of the facility for ten years.

The project allows 15 months for the design, construction and commissioning of the new facility at Siu A Chau, located off the south side of Lantau Island. The project will involve site formation works, construction of a jetty for marine access, building works, provision of storage, handling, operation and laboratory equipment, building services and utilities. The project was commenced in end of August 2003 for completion of construction by November 2004.

This website has been established to provide public access to all environmental monitoring data generated by the Environmental Monitoring & Audit (EM&A) programme during the construction of the LRWF.

The objectives of carrying out EM&A programme for the LRWF include the following:

• To provide a database access to all environmental monitoring data which any short or long term environmental impacts of the project can be determined;
• To ensure compliance with Hong Kong environmental regulations for noise, air quality, water quality and waste, the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines, and the recommendations and environmental monitoring requirements of the Stage 1 EISA, June 1995;
• To outline the monitoring and audit programme to be undertaken for the construction of LRWF at Siu A Chau;
• To monitor and audit the performance of the construction of LRWF;
• To verify and minimize the environmental impacts associated with the construction works and operation predicted in the EIA studies;
• To ensure that the mitigation measures defined in the EM&A manual are appropriately and effectively implemented an Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) programme; and
• To take remedial action if unexpected problems or unacceptable impacts arise.