Page 29 - Corrosion Engineering Principles and Practice

12 C h a p t e r 1 T h e S t u d y o f C o r r o s i o n 13

1.6 Strategic Impact and Cost of Corrosion Damage
It is the belief of many that corrosion is a universal foe that should be
accepted as an inevitable process. Actually, somethings can and should
be done to prolong the life of metallic structures and components exposed
to the environments. As products and manufacturing processes have
become more complex and the penalties of failures from corrosion,
including safety hazards and interruptions in plant operations, have
become more costly and more specifically recognized, the attention given
to the control and prevention of corrosion has generally increased.
Since the first significant report by Uhlig in 1949 that the cost of
corrosion to nations is indeed great [5], the conclusion of all subsequent
studies has been that corrosion represents a constant charge to a nation’s
gross national product (GNP). The annual cost of corrosion to the United
States was estimated in Uhlig’s report to be $5.5 billion or 2.1 percent of
the 1949 GNP. This study attempted to measure the total costs associated
with corroding components by summing up costs for owners and
operators (direct cost) as well as those of users (indirect cost).
Corrosion cost studies of various forms and importance have since
been undertaken by several countries, including the United States, the
United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Kuwait, Germany, Finland, Sweden,
India, and China [6]. A common finding of these studies has been that
the annual corrosion costs range from approximately 1 to 5 percent of
the GNP of each nation. Several studies separated the total corrosion
costs into two parts:

1. The portion of the total corrosion cost that could be avoided
if better corrosion control practices were used.
2. Costs where savings required new and advanced technology
(currently unavoidable costs).
Estimates of avoidable corrosion costs in these studies have varied
widely with a range from 10 to 40 percent of the total cost. Most
studies have categorized corrosion costs according to industrial
sectors or to types of corrosion control products and services. All
studies have focused on direct costs even if it has been estimated that
indirect costs due to corrosion damage were often significantly greater
than direct costs. Indirect costs have been typically excluded from
these studies simply because they are more difficult to estimate.
Potential savings and recommendations in terms of ways to
realize savings from corrosion damage were included in most of the
reports as formal results or as informal directions and discussion.
Two of the most important and common findings were:
1. Major improvements could be provided by a better dissemi-
nation of the existing information through education and
training, by technical advisory and consulting services, and
by research and development activities.