Current oscillatory phenomena were used to investigate the effect of chlorates on the passive state of iron in sulfuric acid solutions. Experimental results show that chlorates cause pitting corrosion, besides general corrosion. It is shown that pitting is not due to the chlorate ion itself, but to chlorides produced via the reduction of chlorates by ferrous ions. General and pitting corrosion are explained in terms of a point defect model proposed to describe the oxide growth and breakdown. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.