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6-14-05 WASHINGTON, D.C.

It’s a chemistry riddle that has stumped some of Minnesota’s top scientists: What’s eating away the steel structures on Duluth Twin Ports waterfront?

Steel in the docks, piers and bridges is eroding up to 10 times faster than scientists would have expected, and they do not know why. Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., is seeking $300,000 for researchers to find answers.

The house approved the expense late last month and the Senate may do the same soon. If passed, Oberstar’s measure will find a study led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

A study of the mysterious erosion is critical so that underwater damage “can be contained and eradicated,” Oberstar said.

And additional $100,000 in state funding could be headed Duluth’s way, too, to address the issue. The Minnesota Senate included money for a corrosion study in its Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resource bill. Jim Sharrow, facilities manager for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, said he was “absolutely delighted” by the prospect of federal and state help. “We’d really like to get to the bottom of this,” Sharrow said.

The likely culprit for the erosion: foreign chemicals in the water, such as dissolved oxygen or chlorides. That was the conclusion of a panel of experts who conducted preliminary research on the problem last September, said Al Klein, an area engineer with the Duluth branch of the Corps.

The panel said if the corrosion is not addressed soon, the steel structures may have to be replaced in five to ten years, costing more the $100 mission.

Sharrow said there are no plans to close any of the four bridges crossing the harbor, thought two have steel bases that are beginning to erode.

“The bridges certainly aren’t at risk of collapsing,” Sharrow said.

By Melissa Lee Tribune Washington Bureau Correspondent