Tinjauan awal potensi ketidakstabilan cerun dan cirian fiziko-kimia tanah di Cameron Highlands, Pahang : Preliminary survey on potential slope instability and soil physico-chemical characteristic in Cameron Highlands, Pahang

Geologically Cameron Highlands was formed by a granite batholith intruding into the older sedimentary rocks. Intrusion of this acidic igneous rock formed metasedimentary rocks and other metamorphic rocks as roof pendants. The schist had been highly weathered, coloured bright grey to dark grey having fine to medium size grains with an obvious foliation. Meanwhile the granitic rock is composed of quartz, feldspar and biotite and/or tourmaline grains. Most of the road slopes cut across the granite body and slope instability survey was carried out based on type of failure, geometry and physico-chemical properties of soil slopes. Field observations showed that most of the failed slopes were soil slopes, and the slip that occurred were either shallow slip or deep slide types. Among the factors that influenced slope instability were slope geometry such as slope height and steep slope gradient, friable features of the weathering profile and the lack of surface vegetation cover. This rendered the slope surface exposed to the direct raindrop impact. Surface water run-off has also caused the development of erosion gullies on soil slope surface. Physico-chemical properties of slope material such as particle size distribution, pH, organic matter content, iron oxide content, water content, true and bulk density, and porosity were also influential in slope stability of the slopes investigated. Low soil pH (acidic) of all the slopes examined decreased iron oxide content of soil which acted as a cementing agent to soil aggregates. This has caused the soil aggregate to become weaker and easier eroded

Cirian fiziko-kimia dan pengaruh ke atas ketidakstabilan bahan bumi cerun di kawasan Puchong, Selangor

A survey was carried along the Puchong-Kajang highway mainly in Puchong, Selangor. 12 stations were visited and soils samples were collected from six stations for laboratory analysis. The slopes for soil sampling are soil slope type with the grade of weathering from IV to VI. The soil samples were collected from stable and failed slopes. The physicochemical properties of soil including of water content and water in the saturated state, organic content, particle size distribution, bulk and true densities, porosity, clay dispersion, pH and iron oxide content. The water content showed higher percentage in failed slope than stable slope samples. All samples indicated that the field water content was below the saturated state. The organic contents were very low (<2%) and the soil can be classified as potentially unstable. A positive correlation was seen between water content and organic matter mainly for unstable slope. The porosity of soils showed a positive correlation with clay and organic matter. Most of the soils were classified as sandy clay. The coefficient values of clay fraction indicated that the soil structure confined in stable to very stable classes compared to one station classified as unstable. In general, the soils were acidic (pH4.87 - pH4.34) with the presence of iron oxide less of than 6%

Ground water quality of several wells in Jasin Melaka

A study of ground water from several wells was carried out in Jasin, Melaka to determine its suitability for drinking and domestic used. Four times sampling trips (n=4) had been done between June and October, 2000. Water parameters determined were temperature, pH, conductivity, color, turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS), dissolved oxygen (DO), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), oil and grease (O&G), total dis­solved solids (TDS), nutrients and heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, Mn and Fe). All selected methodology selected used were recommended by APHA (1995). The study indicated that the concentration of all parameters chosen were below the maximum values recommended by Malaysian Department of Health for drinking water quality except for certain heavy metals. Water Quality Index (WQI) calculated showed that the quality of water for many of the wells was of in Class III and not suitable for drinking before any extensive treatment