[en] Investigated was the effect of the electrochemical polarization upon the failure of hardened and low-tempered 40Kh and 20Kh steels in a 3-% solution of sodium chloride at various pH values. The data of the investigations show that the cracking of high-strength steels in neutral and acidulated solutions of sodium chloride is probably due to hydrogenation. The growth of cracks to critical size occurs relatively fast according to the brittlement mechanism. A drop in pH of the solution greatly shortens the time for appearing cracks in samples