Guidelines to control MIC in new buried steel pipeline construction

Certain types of micro-organisms can become yet another source of elements which result in accelerated metal removal and premature failures in underground steel pipelines. In order to minimize their contribution to the enormous loss of revenue due to corrosion, certain modifications must be introduced into specifications, designs procedures and construction trends. This article describes some of these modifications and other requirements necessary to combat damage to pipelines. Types of organisms, attack mechanisms, soil types, measurements techniques, and probability of attack and recognition are briefly reviewed. The intent of this article is to define the measures necessary to control microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) in new construction that is in a high risk category for this type of attack.