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Corrosive air in our new office?

June 3, 2009

My office recently moved about 15 blocks from its previous location. Within a week or two we noticed that all our steel tools and products were rusting. We don't understand what could be that different between the two locations. Both offices are located in Chelsea, NY very near the Hudson River. The corrosion also seems to be seasonal, increasing significantly in the summer months.
Thanks for any insight!
Evan

Evan Abel
Product Designer - New York, NY, USA

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June 4, 2009

Hi, Evan. If your office is a free-standing building, I don't have any ideas. But, if not, I would think that something that another tenant is doing is causing the problem. Hydrochloric acid, for example, is horribly corrosive and it is not really a liquid, but a gas dissolved in water. If fellow tenants are a plating shop, a tile shop, a chemical mixing facility, or anyone who uses acid for anything, that could be the problem. Don't even think about letting a maintenance company acid wash a floor or anything else.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

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August 3, 2009

Hi Neil,

The corrosion you are encountering is caused by contaminants and could come from a number of sources. As example, there is a major problem in FL where the sheet rock was made with sulphate contaminated water. Now it is exuding acid fumes and corroding everything. Location can matter too. If your building is down wind from a coal fired power plant contaminants can be entering through the ventilation system.

I suggest performing testing on a corroded surface for chloride, sulphate or nitrate contamination. There are other sources but these are the most common. Once you identify the contaminant then search out the cause.

Jim Johnson
- Chandler, Arizona, USA

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dear sir.

the above problem is purely there is an acid cleaning factory nearby and it is periodically releasing HCl acid , which is used for metal treatments for corrosiveness. the chemicals used are not neutralised before they are released to atmosphere.
at times there is a failure in the neutraliser and acid fumes spread in the atmosphere.
also some nearby metal treatment unit is doing a pickling operation for softening the metal before pressing or forming. you can fix a gas detector which will show immediately presence of acid fumes.

with warm regards.

B. Manickavelu
- Banglore, India
September 14, 2009