A new ASTM International practice provides necessary steps when writing new or revising existing standards that use saturated calomel electrode (SCE) for determining electrode potentials. ASTM’s corrosion of metals committee (G01) developed the standard, soon to be published as G220.

“This standard provides useful information for those writing new or revising existing standards where electrode potential measurements are used,” says ASTM International member Sheldon Dean, Jr. “The SCE reference electrode contains mercury and may not be available to users in locations where mercury has been banned.”

Dean, president of Dean Corrosion Technology, Inc., notes that as a result, existing standards that require the use of SCE will need to replace SCE with alterntive references electrodes. The new practice provides a procedure for revising these standards by replacing the SCE with an alternative, thereby obtaining similar performance without the need to use mercury containing components.

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Release #11138

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