‘No lack of geologists’

Press, 22 July 1980, Page 23

‘No lack of geologists’

Inadequate employment opportunities for engineering geologists were one obstacle to preventing a repetition of the Abbotsford landslide, according to a Christchurch man.

Mr D. H. Bell, a senior lecturer in engineering geology at the University of Canterbury, has disputed an assertion in the annual report of the Department of Scientific, and Industrial Research that a lack of people with suitable qualifications was hindering landslide prevention.

The report says the Abbotsford disaster has boosted public awareness of the problem of slope instability, and the role geological investigations can play in urban development. Future loss of property

may be avoided by recognising potential dangers but unfortunately geologists able to do this work are limited, the report says. In a statement to “The Press,” Mr Bell says postgraduate training given to engineering geology students is adequate for the potential employment in this area. The university system was becoming increasingly aware of the importance of engineering geology and a growing emphasis on papers dealing with subjects such as soil mechanics, slope stability, and geological hazards reflect this at the University of Canterbury, he says, , The university produces two graduates a year with masters degrees in engineering geology, he says. However, Mr Bell says, post-qualification experience is what provides the necessary expertise. “The employment of large numbers of

recently qualified engineering geologists by the Government or local bodies is not of itself going to alleviate the urban slope instability problem in the immediate future.” Consultants are available to help identify, and overcome instability hazards but whether there are sufficient of these and whether landuse planning should be the role of Government departments “are somewhat different questions,” he says. Mr Bell says no matter how much planning is done to avoid hazards there will always be those which cannot be foreseen.

He also disputes whether better engineering geological input could have prevented the Abbotsford landslide. "Causes are not clear-cut in that case and prediction of the slope failure and its scale are not certain,”, he says.