Hong Kong is densely populated. Quite a lot of vehicle repair workshops are located near domestic premises. The maintenance of motor vehicles often requires the use of organic solvents which are prone to generate unpleasant odour, causing air pollution and adversely affecting the environment.
People have long been concerned with nuisance arising from paint spraying. With a view to developing a system to control air pollution from paint spraying for use by small and medium vehicle repair workshops, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) joined hands with the Hong Kong Vehicle Repair Merchants Association and the Hong Kong Productivity Council in carrying out a pilot project in a small/medium vehicle repair workshop in Tai Hang, Hong Kong.
The project started in January 2001. The Hong Kong Productivity Council developed a set of mobile activated carbon filtering system for use by that vehicle repair workshop. Data collected suggested that the filtering system could effectively remove volatile organic solvents and odour generated during paint spraying.
Results of the trial on activated carbon air pollution control equipment
