Social Issues

Billboard light darkens lives

by Jessica Fan

Living on the third floor in a building on Nelson Street in Mong Kok, Holly Lam Ping has her nightmare begun, one and a half years ago.

She has to close the windows and the curtains at anytime of the day t o stop the strong light of a large hoarding erected in 2004 right o utside her windows from e ntering her flat.

To ensure good air circulation in her unit, Ms Lam has to switch on the air conditioner every single night in the year, regardless of the seasons.

“I have to pay an extra power bill of air conditioning for about $500 each month since the billboard was built,” Ms Lam said.

The Lam family suffers from nuisance caused by the bright light, or light pollution, a problem unfamiliar to many people.

The number of complaints concerning light pollution received by the Environmental Protection Department rose to 33 cases in 2005 from 13 cases in 2004, a jump of more than 150 per cent. More than half of the complaints were about neon lights, billboards and signboards.

Ngan Cheung-tat, 22, who lives on Fok Lo Tsun Road in Kowloon City , has to lower the window curtains whenever he sleeps as a restaurant signboard is just outside the window of his bedroom.

What is worse is the light from a bank's billboard shines across the street into his 300-square-foot flat.

“Making a complaint is not very effective, the shop still has to run the business and has the lights of the sign on,” Mr Ngan said.

He has not considered moving to other places because of the money and location. But he is troubled by the problem. “I feel helpless towards the light,” Mr Ngan said.

Many people, like Mr Ngan, do not bother to make a complaint. Even if they do, nothing much can be done as there is no law controlling light pollution in Hong Kong .

Secretary for Environment, Transport and Works Sarah Liao Sau-tung said in a Legislative Council m eeting in May 2003 that the government did not plan to introduce new legislation to regulate the intensity of light emitted by advertisement signboards.

The Advertisements Regulation already contains provisions governing the impact of a dvertisement signboards on the environment and road traffic, she said.

Section 6 of the Advertisements Regulation under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance states: “No person shall erect or exhibit any advertisement which disfigures the natural beauty of any scenery or affects injuriously the amenities of any locality.”

But it does not mention about protection of people's health against light pollution.

Though the Environmental Protection Department received the complaints, a spokesman for
the department told Varsity that “light pollution is not within the EPD's ambit”.

The Buildings Department has a guide on erection and maintenance of advertising signboards, which includes advice from the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, the Civil Aviation Department and the Country and Marine Parks Authority.

But the guide only provides advice on signs that will cause distraction to drivers. Regulation on the luminosity of signboards is absent.

“There is a lack of coordination among different departments in tackling light pollution,” said Chan King-ming, an associate professor of biochemistry at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

“Legislation may not be necessary, but clearer guidelines have to be set so as to avoid light pollution.”

Light pollution may affect people's health other than bringing inconveniences like an extra electricity bill and a dark living environment with all curtains closed.

“Although there is no concrete figure, light nuisance can disturb the biological clock of humans,” Dr Chan said.

“Inadequate sleep leads to a reduction of people's productivity, and in a larger scale, a loss of economic p roductivity in society,” he said.

While the government continues to retard on handling light pollution, not all advertisers
see themselves responsible.

The Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA), a leading trade association representing the outdoor advertising industry, has guidelines concerning setting up
advertisements outdoors.

The OAAA wrote in its principles: “We support billboard advertising as a business use to be erected only in commercial and industrial areas.”

Jacky Law Chin-choi, group marketing manager of the Convey Advertising Company Limited, said his company followed the guidelines of the association.

The Convey Advertising Company Limited, a company of the Convey Group, is a member of the OAAA. Convey Group is a pioneer in the “out of home's media” industry with a network of over 1,000 advertising sites in Hong Kong .

“Shop signboard, rather than billboard, is the major source of light pollution,” Mr Law said. But he said shops like sauna parlours, bars, karaoke lounges opened at night
and their signs had to be on until late night.

Though Mr Law considered signboards were more responsible of light pollution, he said 95 to 100 per cent of the 500 billboards produced by the Convey Group in Hong Kong were with lighting.

Mr Law admitted that there were Convey billboards in mixed commercial and residential areas like Yau Ma Tei, Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok. He explained that the company had controlled the time of turning on and off the billboard lights according to seasons.

“In summer, the lights will be switched on between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. ; in winter, the lights will be on between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. .”

Lights of the billboards in the Yau Tsim Mong district will be switched off at one to two in the morning, and billboards in Central are turned off at about 11 at night, he added.

Yet, the OAAA principles are adopted on a voluntary basis. Not every advertiser will follow them.

Even local green groups do not pay much attention to the issue. For example, a spokesperson for the Friends of the Earth said light pollution was not a major concern of the group.

Residents suffering from light nuisance like Ms Lam and Mr Ngan apparently are forced to put up with the problem and keep their curtains closed as long as the lighting of signboards and hoardings is there. Or, they move out, only if they can afford to do so.