Postgraduate Courses

The course provides an in-depth coverage of topics on inorganic and organic environmental contaminants, their structures, functions, sources and emissions, distribution, transformation and fate in the environment.

The course will give an overview on environmental health and management, including topics on outdoor and indoor environments, workplace environment, water and sewage, food, solid waste, hazardous wastes, vectors and control, radiation, environmental health standards, natural and manmade disasters, risk assessment and management, etc. Each topic will include nature of the issue, known and potential health effects, control and regulatory approaches. More in-depth discussions will be given to occupational health hazards, with emphases on current control methods and technology.

Introducing GIS concepts, working with spatial data, managing GIS data, integrating GIS data with Google Earth/Map, remote sensing and model data, applying GIS technology to support environmental planning and management.

The course will provide students with the basic legal concepts which include the hierarchy of courts in Hong Kong, the difference between civil and criminal proceedings and their possible redresses or remedies available from the courts. Some important provisions of the basic environmental legislation in Hong Kong, environmental prosecution policy of Hong Kong and how to instigate a judicial review against a ministerial decision relating to the environment will also be covered in the course.

Atmospheric aerosols, also known as, airborne particulate matter, are important air pollutants affecting our health, visibility, and global climate change. This course aims to provide a survey of the physical and chemical properties, the source identification, the atmospheric transformation, the sampling of atmospheric aerosols, and the determination of their chemical compositions.

Introduction to environmental impact assessment (EIA) and the EIA process in Hong Kong. The components of an EIA report including air, noise, water, waste management, environmental risk, ecological impact, and socio-economic impact assessments will be analyzed. Environmental law, environmental management and the importance of public participation will also be discussed. Case studies from Hong Kong will be used and comparison with EIA in Mainland China will be made.

An independent project on selected topics in environmental science under the supervision of a faculty member. Participation of external organizations in these projects will be particularly encouraged. The responsibility of control, administration and assessment of the projects rests with the University. The course may be repeated once for credits. This course is for MSc students only. Approval from instructor is required.