Seismic Risk of Welding Material

I found your Dec. 30 article about welded structures extremely interesting. My recollection of the testing at the University of Texas in May 1994 is that it caused failure of an expert weld during the first peak of the first cycle of a simulated moderate-level earthquake acceleration. As a retired aerospace engineer, tired of hearing the myth of “the $600 toilet seat,” I find it hard to believe that E70T-4 welding material is still in use at any site, with its potential for causing many casualties during an earthquake. My thoughts in 1994 were that structural engineers should reconsider a return to riveted joints.

I wonder if the American Welding Society or Lincoln Electric would relocate their offices to a downtown Los Angeles high-rise. We might offer them a reduced rent consistent with the low costs of E70T-4 welds. What does it take to revise a welding code?

MARTIN FINKEL

Playa del Rey

* I’m not an engineer, nor am I involved in construction. Nevertheless, I found “Weld Metal Tests Stir Steel Building Concerns” informative, even fascinating. The Times frequently publishes long, detailed articles about a wide range of subjects and issues. I don’t read every lengthy piece in full, but I’m confident each one is of interest to thousands of reader-citizens like me who want to know more about the many important and often complex questions that affect their lives, the community, the world.

FRANKLIN W. DUNLAP

Costa Mesa