Sodium cyanide

Synonyms

Cianuro di sodio [Italian]; Cyanasalt H; Cyanasalt S; Cyanide of sodium; Cyanobrik; Cyanogran; Cyanure de sodium [French]; Cyanure de sodium [ISO-French]; Cymag; Hydrocyanic acid, sodium salt; Kyanid sodny [Czech]; M-44 cyanide capsules; Sodium cyanide; Sodium cyanide [ISO]; [ChemIDplus] UN1689

Category

Cyanides

Description

White, granular or crystalline solid with a faint, almond-like odor; [NIOSH] Deliquescent; [CHEMINFO]

Sources/Uses

Used to clean metals, chelate compounds, and extract gold and silver; Used to manufacture dyes, agricultural chemicals, and pharmaceuticals; Also used in electroplating, heat treating, and metal stripping; Used as a rodenticide (killing coyote, fox, and wild dogs) and insecticide (fumigating trucks and post-harvest application to fruit trees); [HSDB]

Comments

There are two common scenarios for cyanide poisoning in the industrial setting: 1) mixing acid and cyanide solutions, and 2) pouring cyanide wastes into non-alkaline solutions. Mixing cyanide salts with water, e.g., showering in clothes contaminated with cyanides, will generate hydrogen cyanide gas. Dermal absorption of cyanide salts deposited on large areas of skin can result in fatal poisoning. [Sullivan, p. 705-6] Liquid causes second degree burns after contact for a few minutes; [CHRIS] Corrosive to skin; [Quick CPC] A severe skin, eye, and respiratory tract irritant; [ICSC]

Reference Link #1

Biomedical References

Yes

Yes

Yes

5 mg/m3, as CN

5 mg/m3, as CN

3.8 mg/m3, as CN, inhalable fraction

25 mg/m3, as CN

Explanatory Notes

Not TIH in land-based spills, but TiH substance released when spilled in water; [ERG 2016]

Reference Link #2

will not burn

Skin burns

Other Poison

Chemical Asphyxiant

Diseases

Occupational diseases associated with exposure to this agent:

• Asphyxiation, chemical

Processes

Industrial Processes with risk of exposure:

• Electroplating
• Steel Producing
• Toxic Gas from Spilling Chemical in Water