The five-year grace period for laundry shops to replace the vented type dry-cleaning machines will end on October 31, the Environmental Protection Department says.

Starting from November 1, all existing vented typed dry-cleaning machines will not be allowed under the Air Pollution Control (Dry-Cleaning Machines) (Vapour Recovery) Regulation as these machines emitted a significant amount of perchloroethylene (PCE).

These machines should be removed from the laundry shop or rendered permanently inoperable within 14 days.

The regulation aims to control the emission of PCE, a dry-cleaning agent, from dry-cleaning machines by requiring them to be equipped with a vapour-recovery system.

According to available information, exposure to very high concentrations of PCE may cause skin and eye irritation, headaches, and liver and kidney damage.

To ensure a smooth transition, the laundry shops are given grace periods of five years and seven years to replace the vented-type machines and non-vented machines and their deadlines fall on October 31, 2006 and October 31, 2008.

After the grace periods, it is an offence to sell, lease or operate an existing machine that does not meet the requirements, or not to display the certificate of a modified machine. Failure to comply could lead to a maximum fine of $100,000.

Under the control scheme, all new dry-cleaning machines to be sold in Hong Kong would be required to be of approved type with a maximum residual PCE concentration below 300 parts per million by volume (ppmv).