Al Tompkins livens up a dry topic

Something wonderful happened yesterday morning. MATCOR was mentioned in Al's Morning Meeting, a compendium of ideas and story excerpts from a variety of Web sites. Al pointed out the seriousness of our nation's corroding infrastructure, and encouraged journalists to take a harder look.

Who is Al? Why does his opinion matter? And why should we in the corrosion business care? That's what I wanted to know.

My PR team clued me in. Apparently, Al's column is required reading for them, and legions of journalists around the globe.

We who work in this business -- from our partners to our competitors and our customers -- know that corrosion isn't a sexy topic. It's rarely top of mind, especially in the mainstream media.

For a guy like Al to take the time to thoughtfully consider this topic, and its implications, is a rare event that should be savored. Hopefully his bringing corrosion to the forefront will spark some old fashioned investigative journalism -- reporting that could expose what we industry insiders know is a ticking time bomb across this great nation, and around the world.

Our infrastructure is aging. With age comes corrosion. And with corrosion comes failure. The jury is still out on the cause of the New York pipeline explosion. But what happened could have been caused by corrosion, and should be used to illustrate the risk to people and economies.

Since mentioning MATCOR in his column, we’ve received a number of calls from journalists looking into corrosion stories. THANK YOU, AL TOMPKINS, for making that happen, and for devoting some precious time and space to call attention to this serious (and in our opinion, overlooked) issue.

I also want to invite anyone who wants more information on this topic to contact me, either by commenting here, or writing to me.

New York City’s steps to better infrastructure

In my last post, I said I would provide some tips to improve New York’s aging infrastructure. These lessons not only apply to the Big Apple, but to every city large and small.

The dust has barely settled from the New York City steam piping failure. But federal, state, and local officials -- and most likely a phalanx of plaintiff’s lawyers -- will begin asking tough questions and assessing blame.

Though it could be months before forensic analysis determines the factors that led to the failure, we can look to the future and ask, What’s next? Simply put, utility companies operating steam distribution networks must adopt the same standards and procedures used in the oil and gas pipeline industry.

These heavily regulated industries follow rigid programs that utility companies should adopt. These features include:

* Risk-based evaluation of system threats. This identifies segments of the pipeline that are either at risk of failure, or take into account the damage to life and property that a failure would cause.

* Ranking segments at high. This is more art than science. But it does systematically identify critical factors, and lets the operator focus on those high-risk areas.

* Direct assessment of high risk-segments. This methodology assesses the condition of pipeline segments in areas of high consequence. The four-step process includes:

1. Pre-assessment: Engineers collect the historical data on the segment, including its leak and repair history, original construction data, prior testing/inspection reports, and pre-inspection site visits to determine what assessment tools to use.

2. Indirect assessment: We use various testing technologies to test the piping without actually physically examining the pipeline. These tools use voltage gradients, ultrasonic waves, and other technologies to locate coating defects, cracks, and metal loss without having to excavate the entire pipeline.

3. Direct examination: In this phase, the results of the indirect examinations pinpoint the worse areas. These sections are uncovered and examined with sophisticated technologies that require contact with the pipe. The results will determine whether further sites should be excavated.

4. Post assessment: This stage collects and evaluates the results of the indirect and direct assessments. The thickness measurements collected at the excavation sites will calculate a historical corrosion rate, and establish intervals for repeat testing.

These tasks aren’t simple or free. But ignoring them is like ignoring a cancerous tumor that’s inside your body -- buried underground out of sight and out of mind until it is too late. Then it’s front and center.

Every city and municipality should be doing what it can now to assess its level of risk, and put plans in place to minimize that risk using the techniques that I documented above.

If you are a city father, and directly or indirectly responsible for your city’s infrastructure, please feel free to write to me directly. I’ll answer any questions either privately or, if you don’t mind, I could share it here for everyone to learn. Write to me at Schutt_Bill@Yahoo.com.

New York’s steam pipe explosion: A glimpse of the future

Yesterday’s steam pipe explosion in New York City is not surprising.

Yes. Vivid images of explosion and steam emerging from a gaping hole strike me as out of place in the bustling, midtown neighborhood.

But, a greater fact strikes me more. Thousands of miles of high pressure steam piping run under major U.S. cities and small towns that are off our radar. Laws and company practice guidelines that govern corrosion monitoring and control include cathodic protection for oil and gas pipelines. But nothing is mandated for steam and other high pressure piping systems.

The federal government and military have high pressure steam systems on many of our military bases, including the one where Air Force One is stationed. In fact, many of our universities have steam heating and cooling systems. As we have seen, a leak in one of those pipes can prove disastrous or fatal.

News reports yesterday quoted NYC officials saying the pipes were 'old.' That seemed to be the answer to the leak. While we do not know yet what exactly caused the leak, saying the pipes are old shouldn't be acceptable.

Another expert called the existence of the old pipes under NYC a disaster waiting to happen. Well, it happened and it will happen again.

As a corrosion engineer who has worked on oil and gas pipelines, I know detecting and preventing steam piping from rotting is possible. In fact, cathodic protection is preventing corrosion in many piping systems. This includes a system near the University of Pennsylvania that is 50 to 100 years old, and is still working fine and protecting the public.

In my next post, I'm going to explain what New York City can do to mitigate these problems.

Making sense of concrete corrosion

Why do things break? It's a question my grandchildren ask when their favorite toys fall to pieces.

The engineer in me gives an answer young minds might understand. Weak materials. Wear and time. Excessive force or mass. (Well, maybe not excessive force or mass.)

But when I have to explain a break or crack in a major building's balcony or facade to condo owners, they don't face the facts as easily. I encounter this often as a concrete-in-steel expert -- and I wish I didn't, because that means building owners and contractors aren't doing things the right way. Reinforcing steel corrosion should be suspected with Cathodic Protection cure methods used for over 30 years.

This is especially true in coastal areas. I just appeared on Local 6 in Orlando, where buildings suffer constant hurricane damage, and are impacted daily by salt-infused air. You can view the segment here.

This combination creates the 'perfect storm' for corrosion risk. My recommendation: Buildings 10 years old or more should be examined by engineers.

It happens closer to home, too. The Crab House Eatery in Cape May County, N.J., collapsed this week, injuring nine people. Fortunately, nobody died, but does it have to come to that before action is taken?

We haven't heard yet what weakened the bulkhead supporting the pier. Still, cracking, degradation, and wearing in concrete doesn’t happen overnight, so the structure was likely corroding for many years.

That's why we're in constant conversation with customers who own marine properties, and are committed to keeping concrete structures sound. We who understand the science greatly prefer planning and preventing tragedy to making sense of a collapse.

The good news: The right technology and expertise can achieve safety. And that's a concept even a child understands.