Corrosion Found on Enbridge Pipeline Prior to Leak

Federal regulators say earlier tests found corrosion along the pipeline that sent thousands of gallons of oil rushing into the Kalamazoo River this week and that, as recently as two weeks ago, its owner was talking about replacing pipe sections. No cause for the spill has been released, and it was not immediately known whether problems found in the earlier testing were in the area of the spill, or whether that part of the pipe was targeted for replacement.

Enbridge's Line 6B response website here.

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration corrective action order here (PDF, 322k).

National Transportation Safety Board announcement here.

From Detroit Free Press.

RAS Syndrome in Corrosion

RAS syndrome stands for redundant acronym syndrome syndrome and refers to the redundant use of one or more of the words that make up an acronym or initialism with the abbreviation itself, thus in effect repeating one or more words. Usage commentators consider such redundant acronyms poor style and an error to be avoided in writing, though they are common in speech. The term "RAS syndrome" is itself a redundant acronym, and thus is an example of self-referential humor.

From Wikipedia

I can think of several terms commonly used in corrosion, including AC current or DC current, AC current attenuation, DA assessment, SCC cracks, CSE electrode, etc. Corrosion engineers are very fond of their TLAs.

Corrosion Books

Looking for a book on corrosion? Here are some ways to find what you're looking for. Click on these links, then modify my search criteria to narrow down your search.

Google Books

NACE Store

ASM International (Materials Information Society) Books

Amazon Corrosion Books

Corrosion Books on the Kindle

Book Recommendations from the Corrosion Doctors

Azom (A to Z of Materials) Books

We Are All Safer

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was established by the United States Congress in 1967 to investigate and determine the causes of accidents in all modes of transportation. Since then, the Safety Board has investigated more than 110,000 aviation accidents and thousands of railroad, marine, highway, and pipeline accidents. The Board is recognized as one of the world’s premier independent accident investigation agencies
because of the expertise it has accumulated in more than three decades of experience.

This 1998 NTSB report We Are All Safer (PDF, 1.1Mb) lists NTSB-inspired improvements in transportation safety, involving aviation, railroad, marine, highway and highway bridges, pipelines, and hazardous materials transportation safety, many related to corrosion issues.

NACE International Names New Executive Director

From the NACE International press release (PDF, 99k):

NACE International today named Robert (Bob) H. Chalker as its new Executive Director. Chalker has served as Managing Director & CEO of ASQ Global, a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Society for Quality, for the past year and half. Prior to ASQ Global, Chalker served as Director, Global Development and Strategic Planning at SAE International for five years. From 1981 – 2003, Bob worked for Delphi Corporation where his most recent assignment was as Sales Director and Global Customer Manager. Bob earned his MBA at Oakland University (Rochester, Michigan) and completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Cincinnati, where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering. He and his wife Kim will be relocating to Houston, TX. They have two grown children.

NACE International, the Corrosion Society, based in Houston, Texas, has over 23,000 members in 110 countries. It is recognized worldwide as the largest professional association dedicated to protecting people, assets, and the environment from the impact of corrosion. It was founded in 1943, and offers technical training and certification programs, sponsors conferences, and produces industry standards, reports, publications, and software to prevent and mitigate corrosion.

SS Great Britain

The steam ship SS Great Britain, launched in Bristol in 1843, was the first large ocean-going ship with an iron hull and a screw propeller. On her maiden voyage across the Atlantic the Great Britain easily broke the previous speed record. Although effectively a prototype, she continued sailing until 1886, and travelled thirty-two times around the world and nearly one million miles at sea. She was finally abandoned in the Falkland Islands in 1937 after more than 40 years use as a floating warehouse. In 1970 an ambitious salvage effort brought her home to Bristol where she was originally built.

Conserving the more than 160-year-old iron hull on this site [dry dock in the Great Western Dockyard, where she was built between 1839 and 1843] is exceptionally difficult as the dock was a damp environment, and moisture in the air made the process of corrosion continue quickly. Exposure to rain and moisture in the air (humidity) in Bristol allowed the ship to continue to corrode, particularly accelerated by salt infestation in the wrought iron structure.

The site has many papers relating to the corrosion mitigation efforts here.

Quoted text from SS Great Britain site.  Photo by Photo by Matt Buck.

Blogging the Periodic Table

Sam Kean is blogging about the periodic table on Slate Magazine in conjunction with his new book, The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World From the Periodic Table of the Elements.