Heavy Metal Characteristics of Soil and Leachate Resistivity Mapping of Malacca Landfill

Disposal of solid wastes through landfill becomes more expensive and has shortened the lifespan of the landfill as the generation of waste is increasing rapidly. In addition, the construction of new landfills becomes a constraint due to the lack of sufficient site, rising land prices, and increasing demands. Some factors such as the population growth, less sanitary landfill, and poor management of solid waste led to difficulties in treating large amounts of leachate. Due to the leachate infiltrating into the soil, it can pollute the groundwater and affect the nature that is located around the dumping site. In order to detect the movement of leachate in landfill and to determine the contamination area of leachate, the electrical resistivity method is more suitable to use in terms of cost and time required. The aim of this research is to determine the properties of heavy metal in soil, analyse electrical resistivity method using Schlumberger configuration, and determine and produce the subsurface profile of electrical resistivity mapping for leachate at Krubong landfill. The soil characteristics were determined using XRF. From the result, the highest heavy metal concentration in a sample from Krubong landfill site is barium (Ba) followed by zirconium (Zr), and vanadium (V). The study was focused on the application of the geophysics method by electrical resistivity in survey work using a Terrameter SAS4000 imaging system to produce a subsurface profile of the Krubong landfill. Three spread lines were successfully installed and applied at the site to get the subsurface profile of the site. According to the resistivity result, there are some spots at the subsurface of the site that show the leachate plume. Therefore, the movement of leachate can be determined and will assist in the improvement of landfill management and treatment purposes.