As important as cathodic protection is to external corrosion control, it may not be the most
important issue facing those concerned with preventing external corrosion. The NACE
International SP0169 document clearly states the intent of the document is to provide guidance
for effective control of external corrosion. Many seem to ignore the intent of this document
and concern themselves only with cathodic protection and related criteria. We must consider
the other parts of the document and how to effectively control external corrosion with all
possible methods with an understanding of how these methods work together to provide
expected performance.
Keywords: cathodic protection, SP0169, criteria, external corrosion, shielding coatings,
non-shielding coatings