AC Corrosion: A New Threat to Pipeline Integrity?

Corrosion of steel by alternating current was investigated as far back as the early 1900’s. These early studies and others in the 1950–60’s indicated that AC corrosion of steel was only a fraction of an equivalent amount of direct current (i.e. less than 1% of a like amount of DC) and in addition was controlled to negligible levels with cathodic protection applied to industry standards. In 1986 however, an investigation into a corrosion failure on a high pressure gas pipeline in Germany indicated that the sole cause of the failure was AC corrosion. This corrosion failure on an otherwise well protected pipeline resulted in several laboratory and Held studies which indicated, that above a certain minimum AC current density, standard levels of cathodic protection will not control AC corrosion and AC mitigation is required to prevent further corrosion. Several other corrosion anomalies were discovered at coating holidays during the follow-up investigations in Germany. The authors have investigated several corrosion occurrences on pipelines in Ontario during the last 2–3 years which appear to be caused by AC corrosion. This presentation traces the literature record on AC electrolysis from the past to the present and discusses the key parameters which determine the likelihood of corrosion attack. Several case histories of suspected AC corrosion will be discussed and guidelines on how to assess whether or not a pipeline is susceptible to AC corrosion will be offered

Impact of COVID-19 on Cardiovascular Testing in the United States Versus the Rest of the World

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-U.S. institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection