As concerns with the water lead contamination scare take on citywide proportions, recent test results confirming the presence of excess lead levels in the water supply of several primary and secondary schools have further fuelled fears about the health and safety of our next generation. To address the anxiety and uncertainty in parents and students, the Business and Professionals Alliance of Hong Kong (BPA) will be conducting tests on drinking water for approximately 80 primary and secondary schools completed in or after 2005.
Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor today (September 1) announced at a Special Meeting of the Legislative Council’s House Committee that the Government would give priority to approximately 980 kindergartens in testing water supplies and that such tests would subsequently be extended to approximately 80 primary and secondary schools established in or after 2005.
The BPA welcomes the Government’s announcement but as the new academic year has already started it is imperative that the safety of drinking water in primary and secondary schools be addressed as soon as possible. To that end, Mr. Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung, BPA Vice Chairman and Legislative Councillor, said at the Special Meeting that the BPA would be happy to assist in conducting tests at schools. After the Special Meeting, the BPA was in touch with the Education Bureau on such specifics as the deployment of specialists to collect water samples for analysis at government-certified laboratories. The BPA will underwrite all costs incurred for this exercise. It will also be responsible for delivering the test results to government and the relevant schools as soon as these are available.
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