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"What is corrosion?"
Most people would say, "Corrosion is rust." That's the simple answer, but scientists who study corrosion could answer in terms of complex chemical and physical processes; economists might sum up corrosion in dollars. As science and technology advance, we are finding more and more ways to halt the process of corrosion. Corrosion is the process of a man-made material (e.g. steel) returning to its natural state (iron ore).
 Corrosion costs in the United States total nearly $300 billion per year according to a 1995 report by Battelle Columbus Labs, Economic Effects of Metallic Corrosion in the United States. The report states, "Approximately one-third of these costs could be reduced by broader application of corrosion-resistant materials and the application of the best corrosion-related technical practices." The panel found that progress has been made in preventing corrosion in some industries, especially that of motor vehicles. The study was first done in 1975; since then, avoidable corrosion has been reduced from 40% to 35% overall, the study estimates. Avoidable corrosion still accounts for over $100 billion per year.
 A more recent corrosion study (online .pdf) conducted in 2001 with cooperation between CC Technologies Laboratories, Inc., the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) also confirms the extreme cost of corrosion. The objectives of this study were to estimate the total economic impact of metallic corrosion in the U.S. along with identifying national strategies to minimize the impact of corrosion. This study reports that the direct costs associated with corrosion in the U.S. are $276 billion, or 3.1%, of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
 In use nearly 150 years, galvanizing, a process developed in France, has been using zinc to coat steel for corrosion protection. The information set forth in this CD is aimed at educating engineers, architects, owners, and other end-users of the advantages of specifying hot-dip galvanized steel as a corrosion protection system.
Click on a topic below to explore corrosion performance!
Reference Web Sites
NACE: www.nace.org
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introduction: "the corrosion problem"
