Will corrosion cost more than the Iraq War?

I was just in our Houston office, checking on our military veterans training program. We've recruited and trained a number of veterans who want to follow an engineering career path after serving Uncle Sam. The candidates combine their military skills with cutting-edge engineering to protect our global infrastructure.

A number of the veterans in the program spent time in Iraq, and it got me thinking about other threats to our national security -- namely, our aging wastewater infrastructure.

We as a nation must combat this problem before it makes a serious impact on our quality of life. After doing a little research, I found a few interesting points that illustrate the gravity of our situation.

For starters, a recent report from the U.S. House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Development states a finding by the states a finding by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that over the next 20 years the country will need to invest $300 billion to $400 billion to restore and replace our aging wastewater infrastructure.

In another recent report, Colorado senator Ken Gordon pegged the cost of fighting terrorism at more than $500 billion. Fixing our aging wastewater infrastructure might cost as much or more than that.

It's going to take a mammoth effort, but it's crucial to preserve our infrastructure security, and, by extension, maintain the level of comfort our engineers have secured for us.

Governments from the municipal to state level in all 50 states are pouring money into aging water and wastewater systems. The fact that governments are taking an active stance to guard against corrosion is good news. However, if cathodic protection isn't part of the solution, they're flushing our tax dollars down the drain.

A little humor goes a long way

There's always an air of apprehension clouding the entire exhibition hall on the last day. (If you've exhibited at the conference before, or any other conference for that matter, you know what I'm talking about.) Vendors eye one another waiting for the great tear-down.

But vendors not in plain sight tear down around lunchtime, ignoring show organizers' instructions to stay open until official close at 2 p.m.

And then comes the domino effect. By 1 p.m., half the exhibitors are demolishing their booths and crating their stuff. By 2 p.m., the fork lifts arrive to cart stuff away, and the exhibit hall staff begins pulling up the carpets.

Joe Pikas provided some levity to the long week. Yesterday, at our booth, he had us rolling in the aisles with his "Professor and the Driver" joke. This telling won't do it justice, but here it goes anyway:

A professor came up with a revolutionary technology to solve global warming. He decided to tour the country presenting his idea to investor groups to fund his start-up company.

He hired a chauffeur to schedule his talks, take care of the arrangements, and drive him to meetings.

At each stop, the chauffeur would stand at the back of the room while the professor gave his presentation and answered questions. After the first half-dozen lectures, the driver said to the professor, “I’ve listened to your talk so many times I could give it.”

The professor, feeling a little run down, called him on it. At the next presentation, he stood at the back of the room while the driver presented.

When someone asked a very pointed technical question that the driver had never heard before, he hesitated for a moment. The driver then said, “That question is so easy, my driver will answer it for you.”

A little humor goes a long way at the end of a grueling week.

Note to self: Language is important

Today was a day of drama for our crew. I, for one, was feeling under the weather. After taking care of some things in the morning, I spent the rest of the day in bed.

But I got off lucky. Someone else in our group was sent to the hospital with a rather nasty-looking elbow. Turns out it was infected.

As for conference news, Joe Pikas of our Houston office moderated the (ECDA), one of Corrosion/2007's most popular forums. The forum focuses on External Corrosion Direct Assessment (ECDA)). This direct assessment process uses sophisticated above ground tools, called Indirect Inspection Tools (Indirect Inspection Tools), to find areas along a buried pipeline that are corroded or are at risk for corrosion. Gas pipeline operators generally use this process.

The forum spent the bulk of the day discussing changing the language on a footnote to an appendix chart in RP 0502. The footnote says (and I'm paraphrasing here) these tools shouldn't be used without special consideration. Unfortunately, these considerations aren't detailed, and the Department of Transportation (DOT), which regulates pipelines, focuses on the “not to be used” language.

The writers of the regulation, many of whom were at the meeting, didn't intend to preclude these tools from being used. They merely wanted to note that special considerations might be warranted.

After two hours of discussion, the members decided to change the language to “these tools may be used with special considerations.” Another hour was spent deciding how to implement a change within NACE’s standards process.

Where's efficiency when you need it?

A brief lesson in CP

I deal with corrosion all day, so I have to be reminded that not everyone out there is well-versed in cathodic protection.

Thus this mini history lesson on the subject. While not the oldest profession in the world, CP (as we call it in the industry) dates back to the early 19th century. Sir Humphry Davy a British chemist and physicist, first developed it in 1824.

Davy attached chunks of iron to the outer hull of a copper-clad ship, knowing that the added protection would prevent the hull from rusting. And thus, cathodic protection was born.

While CP has advanced since Sir Davy’s time, the basic concept is the same. CP controls the corrosion of a metal surface by making that surface the cathode of an electrochemical cell.

It protects metal structures, such as reinforced steel rebar, from corroding, and prevents any complications that would arise. Today, it's used to prevent concrete buildings from falling and pipelines from leaking. A very noble practice I'd say.

Houston, we got coverage

Great story today in the Bucks County Intelligencer about our work down in Florida on the NASA Vehicle Assembly Building. It really captures the scope of that project.

While I'm excited about the coverage, I secretly posted this so everyone can see the paper's creative headline. Love it!

NACE conference a go in Nashville

If it's the middle of March, it must mean I'm -- no, not filling out my basketball bracket (TCU's not in it this year) -- in Nashville attending the annual NACE conference.

Since arriving on Sunday, I've caught up with a number of familiar faces in the industry. It looks like it will be an interesting week.

Today, I'm attending my first technical conference of the week with the Cathodic Protection Technical Evaluation Group (TEG). When the group met last year, it delved deeply into the critical and sometimes contentious topic of Cathodic Protection Criteria.

This will likely be the focus of the conference this time around, too. The definition of Cathodic Protection Criteria is a fundamental issue that could affect how owners and operators under legislative/regulatory requirements meet NACE Criteria. It's also a critical topic for NACE as it tries to get the criteria accepted internationally.

Poorly established criteria could adversely affect companies that work in good faith to satisfy regulatory requirements and protect their assets and public safety. Criteria that are too confining can undermine NACE initiatives.

This means that pipeline and infrastructure owners and operators who aren't under regulatory requirements might choose not to spend the money on cathodic protection. So while -850 mV on potential versus -850 mV off potential might not seem like a big difference, it does have consequences.

The one time you don't want to travel to the future

The switch to daylight saving time three weeks early might have thrown some people for a loop. I, however, made sure I paid attention. Today I was traveling to Nashville for the NACE Convention, and had to make sure I made my flight.

While there's little impact if you show up an hour late for a movie because you forgot to turn the clock ahead, having your plane leave without you and missing key appointments just won't wash.

Thankfully, I sprung forward before going to bed, and made my flight in plenty of time. I think next year I'll leave a day early.

Stepping up for the environment

Here's a very interesting article I recently read concerning the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (BTC), which transports oil from the Caspian Sea to the Eastern Mediterranean. The pipeline started pumping oil in 2005, but since its proposal almost 10 years prior, the region's environmentalists have roundly criticized it.

To add fuel to their fire, BP, whose troubles in Alaska continue, leads the consortium that built BTC. This raises a legitimate concern: If BP is facing corrosion problems at its most modern pipelines, such as the Northstar oil field, how can it stop them in older ones?

Thankfully, BP is addressing this problem by making its pipelines environmentally friendly -- an approach it extended to its work with BTC. From conception through completion, the BTC consortium took great care in addressing issues ranging from emissions to corrosion prevention.

The result: The BTC pipeline is coated with a three-layer polyethylene system to help guard against corrosion. This coating is one of several options for corrosion control, which pipeline designers now realize is essential for pipeline longevity and safety.

Without these safeguards in place, pipelines will corrode and leak harmful chemicals into the ground, causing irreparable damage. And though no one likes to root for the perceived 'bad guy,' BP deserves applause for making the environmental effort.

BP hits another kink in the pipeline

BP might have thought this year couldn’t be worse than last. But it's hit another oil slick with news about the shutdown of its Northstar oil field -- six miles from the Prudhoe Bay site -- hitting media outlets around the country.

This time around, an employee discovered a sputtering leak in a gas line, forcing the suspension of 40,000 barrels a day. That sounds almost exactly like what BP faced last summer. As of this posting, BP couldn’t say when the Northstar oil field will be up and running again.

It makes me wonder about the economic effect of repeated oil field shutdowns. Fortunately, oil prices haven't been affected by this latest pipeline corrosion problem. But any prolonged closure would surely mean skyrocketing oil prices, and an edge toward the $3 mark once again.

With pipelines aging and corroding at an alarming rate, the implications are clear. Further disruptions could spell an environmental and economic disaster.

Bottom line: Companies that use pipelines should take steps to make sure they're safe for the sake of the economy.