Page 128 - Challenges in Corrosion Costs Causes Consequences and Control(2015)

106 CORROSION COSTS

the same bundle of goods and services that consumers purchased in the world
with corrosion. The IO matrix will indicate cost-savings because of the absence
of corrosion. One needs less input to produce the same output if there was
no corrosion. The savings because of the difference between the world with
corrosion and the world without corrosion are indicated in dollars.

The impact of corrosion is that one has to spend more money in the world with
corrosion than in the world without corrosion. This difference is the cost of corrosion.
In the Battelle-NBS study, the cost of corrosion was determined as a percentage
of sales and on a dollar basis. The highest total costs of corrosion were attributed
to mining, manufacturing, public utilities, and construction. The highest corrosion
costs were in wholesale and retail trade, auto manufacture, livestock, and petroleum
refining.
The source of corrosion costs varies considerably from one industry to another.
Replacement of equipment accounts for corrosion costs in wholesale and retail
sections in the livestock sector. In the case of industrial chemicals, the largest part of
total corrosion costs is because of inhibitors/water treatment and maintenance and
repair. In the case of public utility construction, the largest portion of total corrosion
cost is because of inputs such as corrosion-resistant materials, cathodic protection,
and coatings.
Battelle-NBS studies centered on corrosion cost analysis of four special areas of
the economy, such as:

1. Federal government.
2. Personally owned automobiles.
3. Electric power industry.
4. Loss of energy and materials.

2.2.4.2.1 Federal Government The four agencies that had considerable capital
equipment are: (i) Department of Defense; (ii) National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA); (iii) U.S. Coast Guard; (iv) U.S. Government Services
Administration (GSA).
The total cost of corrosion to the U.S. federal government was estimated to be $8
billion out of which capital cost is $6 billion and maintenance cost is $2 billion. The
total corrosion costs represent 2% of the total federal budget of $400 billion.
The total capital and maintenance costs of government assets are listed in
Table 2.6.

2.2.4.2.2 The Automobile Sector The total corrosion cost of automobiles was
determined to range from $6 billion to $14 billion. The avoidable cost was estimated
between $2 billion and $8 billion.
The principal areas of automotive corrosion were associated with the degradation
of iron and steel components, which amount to 80% of the weight of the automobile.
The elements of automobile costs are: