Combatting Corrosion

Corrosion. Most people with even a minimal understanding of the word's destructive meaning know that the problem has become worse in their lifetimes, due to major increases in harmful chemicals and pollutants in the environment.

For the water and wastewater industry, corrosion is a problem of such magnitude that the Water Information Network-a coalition of local elected officials, drinking water and wastewater service providers, state environmental and health administrators, engineers and environmentalists dedicated to preserving and protecting America's drinking water and wastewater infrastructure-estimates that over the next 20 years it will take $1 trillion to combat.


Increasing Corrosion at Treatment Facilities
There are numerous factors contributing to the breakdown of concrete in wastewater treatment facilities, according to Lake Barrett, director of water/wastewater operations at Tnemec Company, Inc., a leading manufacturer of high-performance coatings for specialized architectural and industrial markets based in Kansas City, MO. These include "increased levels of hydrogen sulfide, a variety of c