About 20 tonnes of dioxin-containing residues have been transported under stringent precautionary measures from To Kau Wan on Lantau to the Tsing Yi Chemical Waste Treatment Centre for incineration.

Steps will be taken to monitor the incineration process in the next few days and updated information will be posted at the Civil Engineering & Development Department website.

A trial incineration exercise, conducted on November 26 last year, has determined the efficiency of existing control measures at the chemical waste treatment centre.

The independent expert assessor was satisfied with the air-monitoring results analysed by an accredited laboratory which demonstrated clearly that the centre was capable of incinerating dioxin-containing residues within stringent emission standards.

The Director of Environmental Protection granted approval on December 24 to incinerate the remaining dioxin-containing residues at the centre since the trial exercise complied with all stipulated requirements.

The residues were delivered from To Kau Wan to the centre early this morning following a designated route specified in the environmental permit issued by the Director of Environmental Protection under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance.

During the operation, some protesters blocked the convoy at the centre.

The Police took necessary and appropriate action to clear the protesters in the interest of safety for all concerned, including the protesters and other road users.