This International Standard establishes material requirements for resistance to SSC in sour petroleum refining and related processing environments containing H2S either as a gas or dissolved in an aqueous (liquid water) phase with or without the presence of hydrocarbon. This International Standard does not include and is not intended to include design specifications. Other forms of wet H2S cracking, environmental cracking, corrosion, and other modes of failure are outside the scope of this International Standard. It is intended to be used by refiners, equipment manufacturers, engineering contractors, and construction contractors.

Specifically, this International Standard is directed at the prevention of SSC of equipment (including pressure vessels, heat exchangers, piping, valve bodies, and pump and compressor cases) and components used in the refining industry. Prevention of SSC in carbon steel categorized under P-No. 1 in Section IX of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) is addressed by requiring compliance with NACE SP0472.

This International Standard applies to all components of equipment exposed to sour refinery environments (see Clause 6) where failure by SSC would (1) compromise the integrity of the pressure-containment system, (2) prevent the basic function of the equipment, and/or (3) prevent the equipment from being restored to an operating condition while continuing to contain pressure.