LEAD CARBON STEEL GALVANIC CORROSION EVALUATION/

In a study aimed to select a carbon steel for its possible use as a li ner for a high level radioactive waste canister, galvanic corrosion te sts of lead/carbon steel galvanic couples in groundwater and in seawat er were performed at 75 degrees C. Lead behaved anodically due to a cu rrent polarity inversion phenomenon, and therefore corroded preferenti ally. This polarity inversion is temperature dependent. Under the same conditions, commercial lead showed higher corrosion rates in groundwa ter than high purity lead. No current polarity inversion was detected in galvanic tests performed either in bentonite suspensions in groundw ater or in seawater.