The President Writes...

The photo is of my good self up the Petrin Tower with Prague Castle behind me, bravely resisting the -6oC temperatures. The tower itself is of interest to ‘we corrosion types’. It was built in 1889, having been inspired by the Eifel Tower at the 1889 Paris Exhibition. It was refurbished in the late 1990’s to make it presentable to the tourists and most of the original 174 tonnes of metalwork has survived the century-plus since its construction relatively unscathed. I would recommend a visit if you’re ever in Prague.

Of course, the reason I can still clamber up the 299 steps and look down on the 100 spires is because through material selection, design and probably above all regular painting, a succession of dedicated people have been able to keep corrosion under control. We, as a rule, do not make enough fuss about our contribution to conservation. Granted, much of the groundwork was done long before there was a formal approach to corrosion control. But then again, we’ve had to match or better their achievements with more onerous health and safety requirements and a considerably more expensive albeit better trained workforce.

Of course, it is not just ferrous materials where we can help to preserve and protect our heritage. Lead, brass, bronze and even the occasional elderly aluminium artefact benefit from the methods and materials of corrosion engineers, scientists and technicians.

We also do ourselves down with respect to that relatively new hot topic, sustainability. Ever since it was decided that we humans, particularly the rich crowd over our side of the sphere, were wasting resources hand over fist to the detriment of all, everyone has been jumping on the sustainability bandwagon. The thing is, we’ve always been ‘doing sustainability’. Every time our actions have extended the service life of a lump of metal we have been actively shrinking the carbon footprint.

Now, I personally think it is about time we let the rest of the world know about this. We’ve been helping save the planet for decades, it’s just no one cared until relatively recently. Yes, they cared when their pipeline leaked or ship sank. Yes, it mattered when their bridge was deemed unsafe to use. But how to put it right was dominated by cost, not carbon equivalent.

So as we enter into the Institute’s 50th year, let us remind both ourselves and others of the huge contribution we jointly make to prevent the fruits of the industrial revolution from simply turning to mush. I never really cared for built-in obsolescence. Let’s welcome everyone to our world of designed durability. More turkey, anyone?

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