Atmospheric corrosion evaluation of galvanised steel by thin layer activation

The release of certain metals, such as zinc, from outdoor constructions due to atmospheric corrosion is of some concern. For risk assessments the evaluation of the amount of released metal is of importance. Various methods can be used to study the release of metals. These include those using radiotracers, such as thin layer activation (TLA). To verify the reliability of TLA with respect to conventional techniques in the evaluation of atmospheric corrosion, galvanised steel was exposed to a mild marine environment. The amount of zinc in the corrosion products, released through artificial leaching, at different time intervals was evaluated by TLA and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). A good correlation between the results was found indicating the feasibility of TLA for these release studies.