[en] Oxidation and hydrogen uptake of zircaloy-2, pretreated under various conditions, were studied in steam at atmospheric pressure in the temperature range of 1016-1170 k. A comparative study of the oxidation of cold-rolled and alpha-annealed specimens of zircaloy-2 under these conditions indicated that oxidation proceeded in accordance with a cubic rate law. The activation energy and pre exponential factor for the oxidation of alpha-annealed zircaloy-2, viz., 34.8 Kcal.mole^-1 and 2.1 x 10¹² mg³ dm^-6.min^-1, respectively, were significantly lower than those for cold-rolled zircaloy-2 (E=47.2 Kcal.mole-1 and A=3.3 x 10¹⁴mg³.dm^-6.min^-1). The breakaway oxidation of cold-rolled zircaloy-2 at 1016 K under these conditions was initiated after 331 minutes when the oxide layer was 13μm thick. In contrast, exposure of alpha-annealed zircaloy-2 to steam at 1016 K for upto 456 minutes produced an oxide layer of about 20 μm thickness, without exhibiting any significant breakaway oxidation during this period. The breakaway oxidation of cold-rolled zircaloy-2 could be significantly delayed by surface modification effected by anodisation of the specimen at a current density of 9 mA cm^-2 for 30 minutes in sodium nitrate melt. In these cases, the onset of breakaway transition at 1016 K was observed only after 615 minutes although the corresponding thickness of the oxide layer was only 22μm. The hydrogen uptake during steam oxidation of cold-rolled zircaloy-2 followed a cubic rate law, whereas that for alpha-annealed zircaloy-2 showed a parabolic dependence on time. The hydrogen uptake of alpha-annealed zircaloy-2 specimens anodised in sodium nitrate melt for 30 minutes at a current density of 1.4 mA.cm^-2 was significantly lower (903 ppm in 7 h at 1016 K) than that for uncoated alpha-annealed specimens (1200 ppm in 8 h at 1016 K). Further, the hydrogen uptake values showed a parabolic dependence on the oxygen weight gain of the specimen. (author). 5 refs., 8 figs., 2 tabs