Page 339 - Challenges in Corrosion Costs Causes Consequences and Control(2015)

5

CONSEQUENCES OF CORROSION

5.1 INTRODUCTION

The three major consequences of corrosion are the following:

1. Economic costs involved in rectifying the corrosion damage.
2. Life-threatening accidents resulting in loss of lives.
3. Environmental damage threatening the ecosystem.

5.2 CORROSION STUDIES

5.2.1 The Battelle-NBS Study
Corrosion is very costly and has a major impact on the economies of industrial
nations. The Battelle-NBS study (1) pointed out the severe impact of corrosion on
the US economy. The estimates based on the Battelle-NBS study report that the
annual cost of corrosion in the United States alone was approximately $70 billion,
which was between 4% and 5% of the gross national product (GNP). A limited study
in 1995 (2) updating the 1975 cost estimates, estimated the total cost of corrosion
at approximately $300 billion. This staggering total corrosion loss resulted from
equipment and structure replacement, loss of product, maintenance and repair, the
need for excess capacity and redundant equipment, corrosion control, designated
technical support, design, insurance, and parts and equipment inventories. Other
national studies such as in the United Kingdom (3), Japan (4), Australia, and (5)
Kuwait (6) investigated their respective corrosion costs. All these studies emphasized

Challenges in Corrosion: Costs, Causes, Consequences, and Control, First Edition. V. S. Sastri.
© 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
317