PROTECTING SOUTHEND PIER: Rust a Constant Menace to Thames Estuary Structure

CORROSION is a continual problem for those who are responsible for metal structures and the well‐known Southend Pier provides Mr. Frank Flintoff, the pier manager, and his staff with a never‐ending task of protecting the mile‐and‐a‐third‐long steel framework against exposure to a heavily salt‐laden atmosphere. The pier is situated on the Essex side of the Thames Estuary and the scheme of protection devised for the Southend Pier has to take into consideration also the pitting and chemical effect of minute cement particles which are carried towards the pier by the prevailing south‐west wind from a factory six miles away on the other side of the estuary.