Microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) can be defined as accelerated corrosion of susceptible metals as a result of the direct, indirect, or combined actions of microbial metabolism.

In many circumstances, particularly for corrosion-resistant alloys such as stainless steels, MIC manifests itself primarily as localized corrosion in the form of pitting, and causes high penetration rates of system components.

(Microbially influenced corrosion has penetrated through the wall of this 316L stainless steel seawater pipe.)

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has been conducting work on MIC for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to assess its effect on the life of waste packages that will be designed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to potentially confine nuclear waste for many thousands of years. Our expertise developed from the nuclear waste management program is readily available for application to other industries.