Journal Executive Summary - Vol. But in some parts of the United States, copper pipes corrode much more rapidly than expected. One reason why this usually satisfactory material weakens and fails was discovered in work done on the corrosion of copper alloys in seawater.
Sulfides increase corrosion in that setting.
And laboratory work reported here extends those findings to pure copper pipes that carry drinking water. The amount of copper allowed in drinking water is regulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency, but this small amount may be quickly exceeded in corroding pipes. Finally, if it continues unchecked, corrosion may produce holes that extend through the pipe walls. Leaking pipes will then need to be replaced, at great expense to the owner. Utilities thus have a dual interest in this problem.