The Environmental Protection Department is investigating the suspected storage of large amounts of chemical waste in three recycling sites in Yuen Long.
The waste includes LCD monitors, cathode ray tubes, printed circuit boards and lead-acid batteries for export.
The Waste Disposal Ordinance and the Waste Disposal (Chemical Waste) (General) Regulation control the collection, storage, dismantling, disposal or import and export of large quantities of such waste, which contains heavy metals and toxic organic compounds that cause pollution or pose health dangers.
Anyone who collects, stores, disposes of, imports or exports chemical waste must apply for a permit from the department but no such approval was given to the three sites.
The department has taken water and soil samples around the sites to see whether the nearby environment has been affected.
The Planning and the Lands departments are checking whether land use regulations have been breached.
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