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Economic Damages to Households... 43 N -...l 1'.:.' o added to radiator coolant. Althougb none of the prior studies listed above have included this type of damage, the authors' primary research has determined that it is very significant in terms of economic costs in the southwestern U.S. Data on the effects of saline water on automotive cooling systems have been obtained from Chrysler Motors, General Motors Research Laboratories, and the Chairman of the ASTM Committee D-15 on Engine Coolants, Mr. Roy E. Bcal, President of Amalgamated Tech- nologies, Inc., Scottsdale, Arizona. Mr. D. W. Doran. Manager of Engineering Standards and Product Information for Chrysler 30 Motors, wrote: It is the opinion of our Cooling Systems Engineering Department that a moderate level of salts in a properly maintained Chrysler cooling system will not appreciably contribute to corrosion of the metal com- ponents. This statement must be qualified by a few details: 1. Moderate levels means a level of chloride of 300 ppm. Above this level the inhibitors in anti-freeze are unable to counter- act the corrosive effect on the metal compo- nents. Aluminum is particularly susceptible to the crevice and pitting corrosion this will causc. Chrysler uses copperlbrass radiators in about 85% of its vehicles, so we arc better off than other manufacturers. However, the other aluminum components, such as the water pump, the thermostat housing, and the intake manifold, aU could be adversely af- fected. This could cause an increase in water pump failure along with radiator plugging. 2. "Properly maintained" means that the customer follows the procedure recom- mended in the owner's manual. There is reli- able data available which shows that this is the exception, not the rule. According to SAE Technical Paper #831821, A Olle 17lOusalld Car Assessment of the U.S. Car Population COOlillg Systems, 36.4% of the vehicles surveyed had less than the recommended 45% antifreeze concentration. The situation is even worse in the West where 56% of the 30perbowa~Comn\unka.t\Qn, Ocl..<m-e'r \Q, 19~. 31Pcrsonal communication, October 17, 1986. ~ population is under the recommended con- centration. About 13% were running with less than 5%. These low concentrations will not sufficiently protect the metal components from corrosion, particularly if they contain high chloride levels. . . . If the 500 - 1000 mgiL of total dissolved solids quoted in your letter are all chloride ions, then this would be considered an exces- sive level. Customers should be advised not to use this water in their cooling systems. We feel that the public should be made more aware of the adverse effects of high salinity water on cooling systems and the importance of proper anti-freeze maintenance. In this way the economic impact of this problem could be minimized. We have recom- mended that the subject be addressed at the next meeting of the ASTM Committee 0-15 on engine coolants . . . Subsequently, Mr. G. G. Levy, Supervisor of Materials Protection and Joining - Corrosion, Chrysler Motors, reported that he had brought the subject of salinity to ASTM Committee D-15 whose members "represent the Antifreeze Manufacturers, Chemical Companies, U.S. Government and State Agencies, Radiator Manufacturers, and the Automotive Companies. The following are the comments of the committee membership?l . A properly maintained cooling system can tolerate 100 ppm (100 mgiL) of salinity. . A properly maintained cooling system may be able to tolerate 300 ppm of chlorides but the corrosion protection of the coolant will be greatly reduced. . No data exists on the corrosivity of higher salinity waters in cooling systems. . While the increase of salinity to 500 ppm and above would be catastrophic to aluminum radiators and other aluminum components it would also cause increased corrosion failures of copper brass radiators. -;':i 'j , " ;1 .i 'I ,.j '1: ;, ;1 , I i , ~1 i '1 j '! . i , . i , " :i , , , ; ~