The new Wales and South-West regional branch held its first ever event on March 21st. The topic was Microbiologically Induced Corrosion (MIC) _ real-world failures and how to prevent them. Presentations were given by the newly elected branch Chair, 
Sarah Bagnall of R-TECH Materials and Dr. Gareth Williams of 
ECHA Microbiology, based in Cardiff.
This inaugural event was kindly hosted by R-TECH Materials, a material’s testing and consultancy business based in Port Talbot, South Wales. The President of the Institute of Corrosion, Stephen Tate, also attended.
Sarah’s presentation provided a most informative insight into the mechanism of MIC and how the mechanism is identified, common triggers, the affected materials and citing a number of case studies from various industries where failure analysis had been performed by R-TECH both of carbon steel materials, and non-C/S materials affected by MIC. The test equipment deployed, including SEM and XRD analysis, was also outlined and demonstrated in the subsequent laboratory tour.
Gareth’s presentation addressed MIC in the marine and shipping industries and the effects of seawater concentration on sulphate reducing bacteria (SRB).
Gareth described a very interesting project that extended over 18 months, looking at the beneficial contribution freshwater compensation can have when balancing partially emptied vessel fuel storage tanks. A whole range of bacterial types were checked by modern qPCR (genetic) techniques, along with pH and redox potential changes. The advantages and disadvantages of MIC mitigations were also discussed, including: system flushing, 
bio-ciding, increased flow rates and protective linings.
A number of the attendees remarked on how they found the presentations most interesting and insightful. The presentations also gained lots of engagement and discussion from the audience, with more than 20 questions and contributions.
The presentations were then followed by a tour of R-TECH Materials’ facility, where numerous attendees commented on how engrossing the tour was and were impressed by the wide range of testing capabilities offered by R-TECH.
AGM
A formal AGM proceeded with the technical meeting, with the following elected for a 12-month term:
- Sarah Bagnall (Chair)
- Adeeba Zachary (Vice Chair)
- Barrie Goode (Student and Liaison and CPD Officer)
- Maryam Bonyadi (External Secretary)
- Rene Brueckner (Finance and Sponsorship Officer)
- Ben Capewell (Events Co-ordinator)
- Chris Weirman (Internal Secretary)
Future Events
The branch is currently arranging events to take place in April 
and May, details to follow soon. For further information or if you 
are interested in attending future events, please contact: 
swchair@icorr.org You can also keep up to date on events by visiting the Branch LinkedIn page; https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12992293/ and the ICorr Wales and South-West webpage at: Wales and South-West Branch – Institute of 
Corrosion (icorr.org) and ICorr events calendar at: 
https://www.icorr.org/events/
Sarah Bagnall, Chair of ICorr Wales and South-West Branch and Director Consultancy Services of R-TECH Materials Presenting at the Event.
Dr. Gareth Williams, Consultancy Services Manager of ECHA Microbiology Presenting at the Event.
Attendees Touring the R-TECH Materials Facility.
