Corrosion due to dog urine, a growing threat to public lighting

PAMPLONA —11/4/2019— Corrosion of public lighting poles due to dog urine has become a major problem in many modern cities, where the number of these animals has been growing progressively over the years. According to the census of Madrid Association of Pet Veterinarians (AMVAC–acronym in Spanish–), updated in 2015, there are 20 million pets in Spain, of which 5 147 980 are dogs, and the average number of them per household has increased to 1.31. The actual figures, however, are higher since there are still many dogs that do not carry microchip and therefore do not appear in any register.

Although in many cities we find areas enabled for these pets to use as a toilet, the truth is that their urine often finishes on the street lighting poles. Even applying bituminous painting on these poles, the urine acid is so aggressive that it ends up damaging the metal. Apart from spoiling the image of the city for its inhabitants and for the tourists, this deterioration compromises the safety of the ensembles and causes accidents, such as electric shocks or the fall of the poles.

To this, we have to add all the planning required for maintenance works, and long-term costs of thousands of euros. For these reasons, it is desirable to look for alternatives to metal when devising street lighting poles, especially when we destine them to areas frequented by dogs, such as parks and gardens.

The outdoor lighting company ATP offers a permanent solution to this problem through luminaries and poles built with technical polymers, which have among their properties the immunity to corrosion, whether caused by urine, humidity or saltpeter. A street lighting with these characteristics eliminates the high maintenance costs caused by metal degeneration and simplifies municipal management: all we need to do is installing the ensembles and letting them work, without worrying about damages in the poles or aesthetic imperfections caused by dog's urine. Aiming to ensure that what they offer is a long-term solution, the company also gives a 10-year warranty on all its products.