Environmental Report 2016

Government Laboratory

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary …………………………………………… 2

Profile of Key Responsibilities …………………………... 3

Environmental Policy ………………………………………… 5

Management System ………………………………………….. 6

Indoor Air Quality ……………..………………………………. 9

Carbon Audit ……………………………………………………... 9

Resources Consumption ……………………………………. 10

Chemical Waste …………………………………………………. 11

Way Forward ……………………………………………………… 13

Feedback and Enquiries …………………………………….. 15

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Executive Summary The Government Laboratory (GL) provides a wide range of scientific services to various bureaux and government departments to support law enforcement, public health and safety, environmental protection, protection of consumer interests and revenue. The Laboratory is wholly committed to achieving a high standard of environmental performance in its operation, saving of resources and raising staff awareness of environmental protection through the implementation of its environmental management system. There are established procedures to prevent the release of harmful pollutants to the environment including the atmosphere, land and water. The Laboratory has also taken steps to minimise the impact of its operation on the environment through continual re-engineering and re-designing of operation procedures. All chemical as well as physical wastes generated in the Laboratory are disposed of in a safe and proper way. This report summarises the Laboratory’s environmental performance in the year 2016 and progress of various activities pertaining to the Laboratory’s environmental management system. The Laboratory will continue to seek opportunities to enhance environmental integrity of all its processes and facilities, and to sustain a high standard of environmental performance in its operation.

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Profile of Key Responsibilities The GL provides comprehensive forensic, analytical and advisory services to various bureaux and departments of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to uphold law and order and facilitate the implementation of government policies on public health, safety, environmental protection and government revenue. Analytical and advisory services are provided for surveillance programmes on food, drugs, and Chinese medicines to safeguard the health and safety of the public. The Laboratory also provides testing and advisory services related to environmental protection for the sustainable development of Hong Kong, commodities for health and safety evaluation, and the protection of consumers’ interests. Forensic science service provided by the Laboratory has to be impartial, accurate and efficient, which is essential for the criminal justice system of Hong Kong. Where appropriate and necessary, the Laboratory would also provide services to public institutions. Structurally, the Laboratory is headed by the Government Chemist and the organisation of the Laboratory is shown as below.

Government Chemist

Analytical & Advisory Services

Division

Food Safety and Quality Group

Other Scientific Services Group

Administration Division

Forensic Science Division

Criminalistics and Quality

Management Group

Drugs, Toxicology and Documents

Group

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As at the end of 2016, the GL had an establishment of 487 staff, comprising 7 directorate-grade and 480 non-directorate-grade staff members. The actual expenditure for 2016-2017 was HK$ 475 million. Currently, the Laboratory consists of 28 operating Sections at 7 different locations in Hong Kong.

Locations of our laboratories 1) Headquarters, Homantin Government Offices, Chung Hau Street, Homantin; 2) King's Park Meteorological Station, King’s Park Rise, Homantin; 3) Public Works Central Laboratory Building, Cheung Yip Street, Kowloon Bay; 4) Lai Chi Kok Government Offices, Lai Wan Road, Lai Chi Kok; 5) The Public Health Laboratory Centre, Nam Cheong Street, Shek Kip Mei; 6) Food Safety Laboratory, Victoria Road, Pok Fu Lam; 7) Biotech Centre, Hong Kong Science Park, Shatin.

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Environmental Policy The Laboraotory is committed to maintaining a sound environmental management system as an integral part of its activities. It is our policy to ensure environmental integrity of all processes and facilities at all times and at all places. We do so by adhering to the four principles of our environmental policy:

Compliance

• We comply with all applicable environmental laws and regulations. To ensure that the waste generated during our operation is in compliance with regulatory requirements, the Laboratory has implemented a programme to monitor the level of pollutants in the air emitted and effluent discharged from the Laboratory.

Prevention

• We implement a management system and procedures designed to prevent activities and / or conditions that pose a threat to the environment. There are established procedures for managing chemical waste disposal and handling of environmental emergencies.

Continual Improvement

• We continually seek opportunities to improve our adherence to these principles. All the Sections in the Laboratory are encouraged to set up environmental objectives and targets relevent to their operations. Sustained efforts have been made to reduce the consumption of chemicals and/or the release of harmful substances to the environment.

Communication

• We communicate through the Laboratory's annual environmental reports our commitment to environmental quality to our staff and the public. Training in safety and environmental operation is given to new recruits. In addition, continuous training on handling environmental emergencies is provided regularly.

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Management System

Staff Responsibility

The Laboratory’s Environment, Safety and Security Committee (LESSC) is responsible for formulating the environmental policy, overseeing its implementation and monitoring environmental performance. The Committee is chaired by a directorate-grade officer and meets regularly. It comprises officers appointed by the Government Chemist and staff representatives from different ranks.

Section Heads and the Departmental Secretary are assigned to be the Laboratory’s Environment, Safety and Security Inspectors, who are responsible for ensuring compliance with the established environmental policy, guidelines and measures on environmental matters by all staff.

An Environmental Management System Working Group (EMSWG) was established to assist the Environmental Manager in overseeing the implementation of the environmental management system in Environmental Chemistry A & B Sections, Residues Section and Trace Elements Section according to the international standard ISO 14001. Under the leadership of the Environmental Manager, the EMSWG comprises representatives from the 4 Sections concerned and the Quality Management Section.

Education and Training

Training on safety and environmental management is given to new recruits, which covers general laboratory safety practices, handling of chemicals and equipment, and procedures for handling chemical spills and wastes. Furthermore, training in dealing with environmental emergencies like handling of chemical and biological hazards to minimise contamination to the environment is also provided regularly.

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Initiatives on Environmental Improvement

Education and training

Up to date, 99 staff members have been trained to be internalenvironmental auditors. In 2016, 34 emergency drills and 1briefing session relating to the handling of environmentalemergencies were organized covering all Sections of theLaboratory.

grEEn ProcurEmEnt

Preferential consideration is given to products manufactured bycertified ISO 14001 manufacturers and suppliers if the offers ofthe intended material or service from all suppliers are thesame. Contractors are requested to minimise the use of packingmaterials. If the goods offered are to be packed in cartonboxes, the carton box packaging must be made from 100%recovered material.

EnvironmEntal managEmEnt SyStEm

Currently, 4 Sections of the Laboratory have obtained the ISO14001 certification. The scope will be extended to cover otherrelevant operations if resources allow.

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Environmental Audits

An annual internal audit was carried out in December 2016 for Environmental Chemistry A & B Sections and Trace Elements Section at the Homantin Headquarters and Residues Section at the Food Safety Laboratory (FSL) in Pokfulam. In addition, the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency (HKQAA) conducted recertification audit for these 4 Sections in February 2017. These audits served to verify that the environmental management system and relevant operating procedures have been implemented effectively in the Laboratory.

Achievements and Progress The Laboratory has long set up objectives, targets and programmes for improving environmental performance. For the year 2016-2017, one environmental programme that was commenced in early 2016 had been completed with good results as described below:

Recycling and Reuse of an Extraction Solvent

To reduce the extraction solvent consumption in the determination of oil and grease in water samples, recycling and reuse of the solvent Cl(CF2CFCl)2Cl (i.e. S-316) reduced its consumption and hence its detrimental effect on the environment. Results collected for a period of 18 months demonstrated a reduction of about 34%, far exceeding the set target of 20%. This environmental management programme was completed with satisfactory outcome.

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Indoor Air Quality The Laboratory takes every opportunity to further enhance its environmental performance. As regards indoor air quality (IAQ), four laboratory premises including the Headquarters at the Homantin Government Offices, the 2 blocks of the Food Safety Laboratory (FSL) in Pokfulam and the Chinese Medicines Section in the Public Health Laboratory Centre (PHLC) have attained “Good Class” in accordance with the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Certification Scheme in 2016.

Carbon Audit Starting from the 2015-2016 financial year, Residues Section at Pokfulam conducted a “paper approach” carbon audit on the activities carried out within the physical boundary of the Food Safety Laboratory premises. This annual exercise was conducted in accordance with the “Guidelines to Account for and Report on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Removals for Buildings (Commercial, Residential or Institutional Purpose) in Hong Kong (2010 Edition)” compiled by the EPD and the

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Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD). The findings were submitted to the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and the final report was issued in May 2016. It is the commitment of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to working closely with the international community to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this regard, the GL will continue to consider and adopt green measures wherever practicable to reduce the total GHG emissions in the future.

Resources Consumption The LESSC of the Laboratory prepared the environmental guidelines and frequently reminds colleagues to observe the green housekeeping measures stipulated therein. In this connection, the consumption of electricity, paper and envelope were monitored annually as environmental performance indicators. Figures for the year 2014, 2015 and 2016 are given below for reference.

The effectively taken green measures had resulted in a drop in both the paper and envelope consumption over the past 3 years. The drastic decline in envelop consumption was due to the drop in new recruitment exercises in 2016, which usually account for the major envelop usage in the Laboratory.

Resources 2014 2015 2016

Electricity (103 kWh) 2 441 2 586 2 656

Paper (kg) 2 654 2 557 2 548

Envelope (unit) 6 545 6 058 3 830

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On the other hand, the gradual increase in the electricity consumption was mainly attributed to the installation of new laboratory equipment over the years to cater for the new analytical services requested by client departments.

In order to support the government policy on electricity saving, an external energy audit was previously conducted by a contractor hired by the EMSD in late 2015 for the FSL in a bid to identify room for improvement with respect to energy saving. The final audit report revealed a range of Energy Management Opportunities (EMO) to save energy. Upon recommendation by the EMSD, the FSL has already considered some of the options and taken steps to implement them. The progress of these Energy Saving Project (ESP) would be reported in the coming years.

Chemical Wastes Under the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System, the Laboratory keeps monitoring the level of pollutants in the effluent discharge and air emission to ensure the compliance with relevant regulatory limits. In the past year, all parameters under monitoring programme demonstrated compliance with legal requirements.

On the other front, all chemical wastes generated in the Laboratory were collected for treatment by an authorized agent. The amount of chemical wastes generated in 2014, 2015 and 2016 are summarized below for reference.

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There was slight reduction in the usage of acid, alkali as well as non-halogenated organic solvent in 2016 as compared with 2015. In general, the quantities of different kinds of wastes generated remained more or less the same in the past few years. Despite higher demand of services have been required by client departments, no significant changes in chemical waste generated have been observed during this period. This demonstrates that the Laboratory’s environmental management programmes have been effectively implemented.

Chemical Wastes Generated 2014 2015 2016

Spent acid (L) 7 154 6 854 6 417

Spent alkali (L) 12 96 75

Spent halogenated organic solvent (L) 1 447 1 191 1 402

Spent non-halogenated organic solvent (L) 2 779 2 834 2 613

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Way Forward

In pursuit of continuous improvement in environmental performance, the Laboratory constantly reviews its operation to ensure that the established environmental guidelines and procedures are fully implemented. All the Sections concerned will continue to examine their analytical methods to find ways in replacing any hazardous or non-environmentally friendly chemicals or solvents. Streamlining process could also help in reducing the quantity of chemicals required. It is our Laboratory’s policy to conserve energy and save resources. Apart from observing and adhering to green and energy-saving measures stipulated in various guidelines, the Laboratory will continue to liaise with the EMSD, the Architectural Services Department (ArchSD) and other departments, to explore new measures and formulate effective energy management programmes.

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One of the great challenges for the GL nowadays is to keep up our good work and standards without compromising its environmental performance. To achieve this, a sound and effective environmental management system has to be in place. As demonstrated earlier, although the testing demand from client departments has increased over the years, the generation of chemical wastes was still under reasonable control. In fact, the quantities of certain waste categories have decreased slightly. This is attributed to the effectiveness of the environmental measures implemented. Looking forward, the GL will put more effort in the aspects of energy management as well as carbon management. Total GHG emission would be considered to become another indicator to monitor GL’s commitment in environmental protection. Likewise, with respect to energy consumption, we will be implementing some of the energy saving projects as proposed in the energy audit report. The effectiveness of these measures will be evaluated once data become available in the future.

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Feedback and Enquiries

Please direct all feedback and enquiries on this Report to the Departmental Secretary of the Laboratory.

Dr. Della WM SIN, JP Government Chemist November 2017

Phone: 2762 3700

Fax: 2714 4083

Email: glabinfo@govtlab.gov.hk

Homepage: www.govtlab.gov.hk

Address: 7/F, Homantin Government Offices,

88 Chung Hau Street, Kowloon, Hong Kong