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CORROSION DAMAGE, DEFECTS, AND FAILURES 325

industrial settings. The measures taken to reduce corrosion by the use of corrosion
prevention technology resulted in an annual saving of $700 million.
Corrosion costs in Canada (14, 15) are about $3.475 billion out of which $235 mil-
lion are avoidable by adopting corrosion control measures. So far, there has been no
initiative in implementing corrosion control measures to reduce the corrosion costs.
This aspect is in the realm of activity of a federal government or a national research
laboratory that deals with materials science. The following recommendations have
been made to counter the effects of wear and corrosion in Canada: establish a national
secretariat whose functions are to:

1. ascertain the corrosion costs in all sectors of industry in detail and arrive at
avoidable costs;
2. assemble a directory of all available wear and corrosion experts in Canada
including private consultants, academicians, researchers in industry, and gov-
ernment organizations;
3. publish, in consultation with both industry and academicians, as many guides
as necessary pertinent to various sectors of industry where wear and corrosion
measures are invaluable for distribution;
4. produce, in addition to the guides, booklets and films on wear and “controlling
corrosion” with the titles: (i) methods; (ii) advisory services; (iii) economics;
(iv) specifications and standards; (v) case studies; and (vi) monitoring for dis-
tribution;
5. take field trips by staff to wear and corrosion sites for consultation and edu-
cation;
6. identify, in cooperation with industry and academia, the areas of wear and
corrosion research of utmost urgency and needs and organize consortia for a
50/50 funded research investigation;
7. set up telephone technical advisory and referrals services;
8. set up computer data base with a complimentary suite of expert system;
9. operate on a cost recovery basis and in course of time become self-supporting;
10. the annual budget of the secretariat will be about $250 K and will comprise
one technical expert and one administrative assistant.

5.3 CORROSION DAMAGE, DEFECTS, AND FAILURES

One of the consequences of corrosion is the failure of a machine or a system to func-
tion according to the specifications or the prescribed standards. The failure of a system
to function according to specifications warrants a failure analysis of the system to
identify the root causes of failure and suggestions to correct the situation. Corrosion
damage, defects, and failures can have major and serious consequences on the oper-
ation of a system. Failure of a system with respect to corrosion is a final step or stage
before the system undergoes corrosion damage and defects.