The Hindu Business Line : `Awareness of loss caused by corrosion very low'

CORROSION is eating away a section of industries' gains - about Rs 35,000 crore worth - and most industries are doing nothing about it, according to experts at the National Association of Corrosion Engineers - International India Section (NACE).

Except for large industry players such as those in refineries, nuclear power, space, shipping, and Defence, most industries do not target corrosion issues. A large part of the estimated Rs 35,000-crore losses is expected to be in SMEs.

Surprisingly, corrosion awareness is low even in the high-value industries like the automobile sector, according to Dr Baldev Raj, Director, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research.

Corrosion is something that has to be addressed from project initiation. It has to be built into the design from the moment a project goes on to the drawing board.

Even industries that are up-to-date on maintenance, zero breakdowns, and zero rejections, do not address corrosion as an issue. It is not as if India lacks expertise in this area, but only awareness is low.

Corrosion audit should become a part of a manufacturing facility's routine, like energy audit and quality audit, and corrosion engineers should be a part of the team, he said.

It is to create awareness in such areas that NACE India Section is holding the International Conference on Corrosion (Corcon 2005) in Chennai.

According to Dr Baldev Raj, who is the Chairman of Corcon 2005, a special feature of this conference is a separate section that will deal with corrosion issues in automotive industries.

Experts in the field including from the European Federation of Corrosion in Automobile Industry will address the meet.

There are only rough estimates of corrosion losses and where available, the data indicate losses in the range of 2.5-4 per cent of GDP. Even developed countries have not been able to get the losses lower than 2.5 per cent, he said.

The three-day event begins on November 28 at the Chennai Trade Centre. The theme will be corrosion management and will cover industries and infrastructure, chemical, petrochemical, fertiliser, textile, paper, oil and gas, power plants, shipping, and Railways.

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