Notable Cyanide Incidents

September 2006

• A sea container in Australia, loaded with 16 tons of highly toxic sodium cyanide, was trucked through the city of Perth after a transportation bungle... The dangerous chemical was carted by Australian Gold Reagents from Kwinana to a yard in Bayswater on August 4 in a container that should have been empty. The blunder was discovered after a forklift was unable to lift the container off its trailer. A report by AGR said the incident was serious and the Bayswater yard was not on a dangerous-goods route. Sodium cyanide, widely used by the mining industry to extract gold from ore, is a poisonous chemical that can cause death if swallowed.
  - "Toxic Cargo Trucked into City," The Sunday Times,30 September 2006.
  

August 2006

• On August 25, three Santa Fe County sheriff's deputies investigating an apparent suicide were nearly killed by cyanide gas fumes. The sheriff's office reported the deputies are fine, but the incident was a shock to the department and the community where it happened. And because of the cyanide gas that was used, the whole investigation scene had to be treated as a hazardous-material zone with hazmat specialists clearing the way for investigators. Neighbors who said the man was threatening suicide called deputies who reportedly found the victim's body on his porch. Traces of the sodium cyanide gas he apparently used to kill himself were still in the air.
  - "Poison Gas Endangers Deputies" KRQE News 13 Santa Fe, NM,25 August 2006.
  
• According to the Ventura County Star and State Department documents, potassium cyanide, napalm, dioxin and chromium are among a host of toxic chemicals burned in an open-air pit at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. The State Department is overseeing the cleanup of chemical contaminants at the former rocket engine test site. The nearly 200 pages of documents were submitted to the Department of Toxic Substances Control by Boeing Co. last week. The department wanted to know more about the area because it was slated for stop-gap cleanup to keep pollutants from contaminating surface water running off the site.
  - "Rocketdyne Burned Toxic Agents, Papers Say" Ventura County Star,23 August 2006.
  
• According to CBS 5 in San Francisco, San Francisco and New York are the first major cities in the nation to use a small army of common blue gill fish to protect against terrorist attacks. Non-contact sensors, placed in the aquarium, continuously monitor the blue gills' behavior and water quality for toxic conditions. Tiny fish are latest in an arsenal of weapons it's using to safeguard the water supply. The fish respond to a wide range of chemicals and toxic materials such as metals, cyanide, solvents and pesticides.
  - "Fish Keep SF Drinking Water Safe From Terrorists" CBS 5 San Francisco,22 August 2006.
  

July 2006

• According to the Associated Press, most of the passengers treated at hospitals after the Chicago subway train derailment and fire on July 11 suffered from smoke inhalation, a misunderstood condition that causes more deaths from fires than burns. Experts state that smoke plays a deadly game with people escaping from fire, distorting their perception of time, enticing them with drowsiness and robbing them of oxygen. About 5,000 people die annually from smoke inhalation, said Dr. Michael Silver, a lung specialist at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center. Smoke contains carbon monoxide and cyanide gas that choke off oxygen and poison tissues in the body. But Tuesday's quick evacuation from the train and tunnel, followed by immediate medical care, probably saved most passengers from long-term health consequences, Silver said.
  - "Smoke plays deadly game with people escaping fire" Associated Press,17 July 2006.
  
• On July 3, The Tokyo Fire Department ordered residents nearby a plating factory in Tokyo to evacuate Monday after a fire broke out from its storage housing poisonous material. Residents living within the radium of 50 meters of a plating factory in Tokyo's Nakano ward were ordered to evacuate. The storage houses sodium cyanide. There were no reports of injuries among residents or evacuees from the fire.
  - "Tokyo Factory Fire Forces Evacuation Of Nearby Residents" Dow Jones,3 July 2006.
  

June 2006

• On June 29, in an upsacle Chicago suburb, federal agents removed pounds of cyanide, gallons of ether and quart mason jars suspected of containing PCP, an illegal drug that was formerly used as an animal tranquilizer. The source says a large-scale PCP lab was in a man's three-car garage; the man whose home the chemicals were found in was arrested Tuesday night. If the ether had ignited, it would have leveled the house and likely damaged the rest of the block, sources said. A spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration declined to provide any details, saying it was an ongoing investigation. Special Agent Chris Hoyt would only confirm that the DEA was in South Holland ''for an action.''
  - "Source: Suburban garage was PCP lab" Chicago Sun-Times, 29 June 2006.
  
• In an excerpt from a new book, "The One Percent Doctrine," by Robert Suskind, was published in the June 26th, 2006 edition of Time. The former WSJ reporter reports a former plot by al-Qaida terrorists to kill thousands of New Yorkers by spreading cyanide gas in the subway. According to the book, U.S. intelligence agencies learned the scheme involved the use of a crude but effective device made of Mason jars that would release the deadly gas through several subway cars, but was called off, 45 days before it was set to occur, by Osama bin Laden's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
  -"The Untold Story of al-Qaeda's Plot to Attack the Subways" Time, 26 June 2006.
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• On June 20th, EMD Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a U.S. affiliate of Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany, announced the completed submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) for Cyanokit(R) (hydroxocobalamin) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Cyanokit is in development for the treatment of known or suspected cyanide poisoning and is currently marketed in France by Merck KGaA affiliate Merck Sante.
  - "EMD Pharmaceuticals Announces Submission of New Drug Application for Cyanokit(R) for Treatment of Cyanide Poisoning" 20 June 2006.

May 2006

• On May 30th, Two months after several Providence firefighters suffered from cyanide poisoning fighting structure fires, a task force recommended training firefighters about the risks of cyanide and the importance of consistently wearing air masks. In addition, the task force recommended educating the public and medical community on the presence and symptoms of cyanide poisoning. A review by the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety is also underway.
  - "Task force urges firefighting precautions" Providence Journal, Amanda Milkovits, 31 May 2006.
  - "Providence task force issues recommendations on cyanide" Associated Press, 30 May 2006.
• On May 10th, the manager who set off the pyrotechnics that ignited the catastrophic Rhode Island nightclub fire that killed 100 people, was sentenced to four years in prison and three years probation. The fire was the deadliest in a nightclub in 25 years. Flames and smoke engulfed the club, many victims died from the smoke inhalation or were unable to make their way through the logjam of concertgoers trying to escape through the front door.
  - "Manager sentenced for Rhode Island Nightclub Fire" New York Times, Pam Belluck and Maria Newman 10 May 2006.
• On May 1st, seventeen people died after a landslide of poisonous content, including sodium cyanide, at a gold mine in north-west China engulfed their homes. Five villagers were in hospital after a cascade of toxic gold tailings buried their homes following the collapse of a dam wall at the mine in Shaanxi province on Sunday.
  - "17 missing after toxic sludge buries village" Reuters, UK 02 May 2006.
• On May 1st, a court in Jiujiang, China sentenced three thieves for the robbery of a gambling den last June. One of the three passed out for several hours from the effects of cyanide gas, which killed their two accomplices and five victims -- but still remembered to rob the dead of 15,950 yuan ($1,990), five mobile phones and a gold necklace when he came around.
  - "Thieves gas themselves in cyanide heist blunder" Reuters 01 May 2006.

April 2006

• On April 22nd, a store of hundreds of different chemicals, including mercury and cyanide, was uncovered by police at a warehouse site in the region of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic. Three people have already been arrested. There is speculation that it was not an open and shut case of inappropriate or negligent waste disposal but something far more serious: actually producing dangerous chemicals on site for the black market.
  - "Police, Specialists, Uncover Dangerous Chemicals At Storage Site" Czech Radio, Jan Velinger, 24 April 2006.
• On April 11th, three Aberdeen Proving Ground employees were sent to a post medical clinic for observation after a brief power failure might have exposed them to chemical warfare agents that they had been experimenting with. The chemicals were mustard, a blistering agent; GB, a nerve agent; and two other poisonous chemicals, hydrogen cyanide and cyanogen chloride. The employees, who were wearing protective clothing at the time of the incident, were released from the clinic at the post's Edgewood Area after about two hours of observation. The employees showed no symptoms of exposure.
  -"Safe containing potassium cyanide stolen from Chiba factory," Baltimore Sun, Laura Barnhardt, 12 April 2006.
• In early April, Reilly Industries, an Indianapolis chemical company, was fined $88,468 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to immediately notify federal and state officials of five releases of hydrogen cyanide and one release of anhydrous ammonia from September to November of 2003. The EPA claims Reilly released 20 to 30 pounds of hydrogen cyanide four times in September and once in November 2003 without reporting it immediately.
  -"EPA fines Reilly $88,468," Indianapolis Star, Tammy Webber, 08 April 2006.

March 2006

• In March, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fined the California Technical Plating Corporation of San Fernando, Calif., $25,000 for violating federal hazardous waste regulations, including storing hazardous waste including wastewater treatment sludge, spent acids, and spent filter cartridges from cyanide tanks, without a permit. The California Technical Plating Corporation specializes in electroplating and chemical etching; the firm generates more than 1,000 kilograms of hazardous waste per month.
  -" Company fined $25,000 for violating hazardous waste laws," Reliable Plant Magazine 30 March 2006.
• On March 24th, five Providence, RI firefighters were diagnosed with cyanide poisoning after fighting three separate structure fires. Fire Chief David Costa says he's forming a five-member task force to investigate. He's asked the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety, a federal agency, to join the stud.
  -"Providence to formally study cyanide poisonings," Associated Press 29 March 2006
  -"Firefighters facing a new worry; A modern killer is lurking in the smoke at household fires, and firefighters may need to change the way they tackle a blaze," Providence Journal, Amanda Milkovits 02 April 2006
  -"U.S. to study cyanide poisonings," Providence Journal, Amanda Milkovits 10 April 2006
• On March 13th, Israeli police arrested reputed underworld crime boss Ya'akov Aberjil on suspicion of assisting in the murder of inmate Yoni Elzam. Elzam, 22, died in prison the night before he was set to testify on behalf of the prosecution against Shimon Zarihan for the murder of underworld figure Hananya Ohana. At the time, Elzam was serving a life sentence for his own part in the murder. It was revealed on Monday that Elzam died as a result of cyanide poisoning. The exact circumstances of his death, however, remain unclear at this time.
  -"Police Arrest Reputed Mob Boss Suspected Of Assisting In Murder," HaaretzDaily.com (Israel), Jonathan Lis 13 March 2006
• On March 5th, Eric Suurmeyer, 19, a Minnesota State University - Mankato student was found dead in his dorm room after committing suicide. Police found a bottle labeled "Cyanide poison" in his room and believe Suurmeyer bought the poison over the Internet.
  - "Mankato Student's Death Ruled Suicide," WCCO.COM (Minnesota) 16 March 2006
• On March 5th, Richard Kuklinski, who claimed to have killed more than 100 people as a Mafia hit man, died in the prison wing of St. Francis Hospital in Trenton, NJ. Mr. Kuklinski promoted his own notoriety by appearing in two HBO documentaries as well as meeting with writers, psychiatrists and criminologists. Kuklinski often listed the many ways he killed, but has said his favorite weapon was cyanide solution administered with a nasal-spray bottle in the victim's face.
  -"Richard Kuklinski, 70, a Killer of Many People and Many Ways, Dies," The New York Times, Douglass Martin 09 March 2006
• In March, Federal court documents shed new light on the possible hazards posed to the public by chemicals left behind at the former H.M. Quackenbush Inc. electroplating plant (New York State). The EPA first inspected the 56,000-square-foot plant in August 2005, a month after the company closed and five months after the company filed for federal bankruptcy protection. They found improperly high levels of hydrogen cyanide gas, which was being released into the busy downtown area surrounding the building, as well as 700 drums of muriatic acid, sulfuric acid, solvents and other corrosive materials, and 50 one-ton bags of waste debris.
  -"Quackenbush: EPA wants firm to pay for cleanup," UticaOD.com (NY), Tory Parrish 09 March 2006
• On March 5th, after years of community agitation and the discovery that the former Hexagon Laboratories lot in the Bronx was littered with carcinogens, explosives and poisons like cyanide, the state attorney general's office announced last week that it had reached a settlement with companies involved in Hexagon's business or its chemical operations at the site: they will pay about two-thirds of the $9 million cleanup cost.
  -"Deal Reached to Clean Toxic Bronx Site," The New York Times, Timothy Williams 06 March 2006
• A Worcester, Mass. businessman has been accused of illegally storing, transporting and disposing of hazardous waste, including cyanide, hexavalent chromium and acids, while running a metal-plating business from two locations in the city. Industrial wastewater from the operation was allegedly discharged down a sink drain into the city sewer system, and the treated wastewater was then released into the Blackstone River, according to prosecutors.
  -"City man charged in dumping," Worcester Telegram, Gary V. Murray 03 March 2006
• On March 1st, six rare, wild elephants were found poisoned to death with potassium cyanide in an Indonesian jungle. The animals, including one young elephant, were found close together near Mahato, a village 300 kilometers (180 miles) north of Riau's capital Pekanbaru. The only male in the group had its tusks removed The elephants appeared to have been dead for about a week.
  -"Six Elephants Found Poisoned To Death In Indonesian Jungle," Associated Press 01 March 2006

February 2006

• The brother of a woman poisoned with cyanide has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her husband, a doctor who has been indicted in her murder and declared a fugitive. Yazeed Essa, 37, disappeared three weeks after his wife's death. Authorities have information he has been in Syria, Greece and Lebanon, and possibly re-entered the country in Florida. Essa gave his 38-year-old wife a calcium pill filled with cyanide because he was having an affair and wanted out of his six-year marriage. Afterward, Rosemarie Essa crashed her car into an oncoming vehicle and was found slumped over inside.
  -" Fugitive faces lawsuit in cyanide case," Associated Press 28 Feb 2006
• A toxicology report by the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Madivala (India), has revealed that there were traces of cyanide in organs collected from three persons, who died after consuming liquor in Srirampura on February 16. The final report submitted to the authorities on Monday, stating that there were traces of lethal substance hinting at cyanide poisoning, has left the police baffled. The case has taken a new twist, after the report mentioned that there were no traces of cyanide in liquor samples.
  -" Hooch tragedy: traces of cyanide found," The Times of India 28 Feb 2006
• On February 16th, the New Jersey DEP fined a metal recycling company $250,000 for a series of violations at its former plant in Paterson, NJ, including storing volatile chemicals too close together and failing to get permits to emit pollutants through its stacks. In one instance, the recycling plant was found to be improperly storing 29,000 pounds of cyanide, acids, bases and other potentially explosive chemicals. Drums of cyanide were stored in a vehicle that also had containers of acid.
  -"DEP fines metal recycler $250,000," North Jersey Colleen Diskin 16 Feb 2006
• On February 8th, thieves stole approximately 10 kilograms of potassium cyanide from a nightclub at Uis (Namibia). The theft precipitated a huge security scare and a massive manhunt in the Erongo Region. The cyanide was apparently "under storage" in an olive-green military-style metal trunk that was under lock and key inside the steel safe in the nightclub. Having worked for many years in the gold mining industry, the club-owner had thought of setting up his own private laboratory.
  -Gaomas, Surihe, "Deadly Cyanide Stolen At Uis," www.allAfrica.com 09 Feb 2006.
• On February 6th, a safe containing potassium cyanide was stolen from Chiba (Japan) equipment factory. The safe contained a bottle of potassium cyanide and about 300,000 yen in cash. The factory produces elevator parts and other equipment, and the potassium cyanide had formerly been used for welding, but it had been shut in the safe since 1998 without being used.
  -"Safe containing potassium cyanide stolen from Chiba factory," Mainichi Daily News 02 Feb 2006.

January 2006

• On January 9th, the Draslovka chemical company in Koln (Czech Republic) spilled 2 cubic meters (71 cubic feet) of toxic cyanide into the Labe River in central Bohemia. The Environment Ministry, Czech Environmental Inspection learned of the spill when local fishermen began reporting thousands of dead fish in the river.
  -"Cyanide leak unreported for days; Government caught off guard by the contamination's extent?," The Prague Post 25 January 2006.

December 2005

• On December 5th, officials assigned to removing hazardous waste from the former H.M. Quackenbush facility (a former electroplating factory in New York State) say the cleanup work is well under way and crews may have all the chemicals trucked out by the end of January. The cleanup crew identified and secured more than 5,000 gallons of cyanide, 2,000 gallons of sulfuric, muric and nitric acids, as well as hazardous metal solutions and solvents.
  -"Quackenbush Chemicals Being Trucked," Observer-Dispatch 06 December 2005.

November 2005

• A cyanide spill on November 27th from the Borsa mining exploitation in Romania was expected to contaminate the Hungarian section of Tisza River yesterday morning. The contamination was not expected to reach alarming levels. This is the third spill of polluting substances from this region in Romania into the Tisza in the last five years.
  -Iancu, Alecs, "Cyanide Pollution From Local Mine Risks Reaching Hungary," Bucharest Daily News 28 November 2005.
• In November, a Florida college student methodically prepared and swallowed a lethal cocktail of potassium cyanide. She frequented an Internet newsgroup called called ASH, short for Alt.Suicide.Holiday whose members trade advice on how to commit suicide.
  -"Online newsgroup helped daughter commit suicide," CNN, 11 November 2005.
• On November 10th, UNEP said thousands of contaminated industrial and military sites left over from wars in Iraq must urgently be cleaned up to stop them from further harming people's health and the environment. One of the five sites recently assessed by UNEP-a metal plating facility near Baghdad damaged by ground and air strikes in 2003-is believed to contain several tons of acutely toxic sodium cyanide.
  -"U.N.: Iraq hazardous waste sites neglected" Associated Press 10 November 2005.

October 2005

• A suspected bicycle thief apparently committed suicide on October 5th by swallowing poisonous potassium cyanide as police were questioning him at his home; he died minutes later.
  -Robinson, Marilyn, "Suspected bike thief takes poison, dies," Rocky Mountain News 06 October 2005.

September 2005

• On October 24th, Japan's second-largest steel manufacturer was suspected of discharging wastewater containing highly toxic cyanide compounds or hydrogen ion exceeding regulatory standards at Chiba port, in the eastern part of Tokyo Bay.
  -"JFE Steel Faces Charges Over Discharging Polluted Wastewater," Japan Today 24 October 2005.
• Charges were filed on September 21st at the Tel Aviv District court against Abas el-Sayad, the Hamas military wing leader in Tulkarm. El-Sayad is charged with being behind the Passover massacre bombing at the Park Hotel and the bombing of the Sharon shopping mall in Netanya that together killed 34 and wounded dozens. After the explosion, el-Sayad informed Zeidan that he intended to use the cyanide in the near future for a mass attack which he was planning.
  -"Bomb mastermind planned other attacks," Jerusalem Post Online 22 September 2005.
• The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency reported in a study released on September 26th that lead, arsenic and cyanide leaked out of lightly regulated landfills that are supposed to hold only bricks, wood, concrete and other construction debris.
  -Spencer, Carrie, "Lead, Arsenic Found In Water From Construction Debris Landfills," Associated Press 27 September 2005.
• On September 12th, the National Environmental Trust posted details about the flood of toxic chemicals ranging from formaldehyde to benzene to cyanide compounds, present in 66 facilities in the New Orleans area, that inundated the area after the hurricanes on its website.
  -"Toxic Stew: After Hurricane Katrina, What's in the Water in New Orleans?," U.S Newswire 12 September 2005.

August 2005

• Hindi news channel 'India TV' received a threat from some unknown persons on August 1st. The TV station received an envelope containing two live cartridges and some powder suspected to be potassium cyanide with the threat that someone from the news channel would be killed.
  -"India TV receives threat," The Hindu 01 August 2005.

July 2005

• On July 19th, two Kennecott employees in Utah were hospitalized after being exposed to sodium cyanide fumes. The men were working in a smelter in the Barney's Canyon area of the mine when they were exposed to the fumes. The exposure lasted less than a minute. The victims complained of chest pains, they were taken to the hospital for treatment.
  -Westley, Michael, "Fumes injure Kennecott workers," Salt Lake Tribune 20 July 2005.
• On July 14th, containers and tanks filled with hazardous chemicals including chromium, arsenic, and cyanide were found at Industrial Zinc Plating, Inc., in Long Beach, Calif. The emergency cleanup began June 21, 2005, after a referral by the Los Angeles County Sanitation District.
  -"EPA orders businessman, companies, to cleanup Long Beach property," YubaNet.com 14 July 2005.
• Two friends in India died after consuming liquor laced with cyanide. Police were investigating whether the duo committed suicide or someone had mixed the cyanide with the liquor and given to them.
  -"Liquor Claims Two," Newstoday.net.com (India) 12 July 2005.

June 2005

• More than 400 pounds of chemicals, including white phosphorus, mercury, arsenic, sodium cyanide and potassium cyanide, were collected at three Wyoming schools and sent to commercial facilities for proper disposal under an EPA grant.
  -"Feedback EPA grant helps Wyoming schools remove hazardous chemicals from labs," Environmental Protection Agency, 02 June 2005.

May 2005

• Six people were killed on May 30th by hydrogen cyanide from a discarded household pickle pool in Zhao'an County of east China's Fujian Province. In addition, about 16 people among the rescuers were poisoned to different degrees.
  -"Poisonous Gas From Pickle Pool Kills 6 In E. China County," China Daily 31 May 2005.
• On May 18th, a Tawainese beverage company recalled 1.6 million energy drinks after four people were poisoned by cyanide-laced energy drinks. Bullwild energy drinks were recalled islandwide and all similar products were removed from store shelves immediately. Of the four poisoned people, one died and three were injured. Authorities eventually arrested Wang Chin-chan who was sentenced to death on July 11th for murdering one person and injuring three.
  -"More Than 1.6 Million Energy Drinks Recalled," Central News Agency Taipei 18 May 2005.
  -"Cyanide Victims Think 'Poison' Warning A Slogan," Reuters 19 May 2005.
  -Chang, Rich, "Drink-Poisoner Is Sentenced To Death," Taipei Times 12 July 2005.
• A Maple Heights, Ohio woman cleaning out her garage called the HAZMAT team after finding a jar labeled "sodium cyanide."
  -WKYC 3-CBS, Cleveland, Ohio, 15 May 2005.
• A fire broke out on May 11th at an industrial site in Gothenburg, Sweden, which stored a large amount of chemicals, including 300 cubic metres of acid and cyanide. There were no reports of injuries and it was unclear what the cause of the fire was.
  -"Blaze Destroys Chemical Site In Gothenburg," The Local (Sweden) 11 May 2005
• The city of Hutto, Texas advised an evacuation on May 10th after finding a canister of cyanide inside the old cotton gin. Mayor Mike Ackerman said he was told the safest way to dispose of the cyanide is through onsite incineration.
  -Bordelon, Jennifer, "Residents, businesses advised to evacuate Hutto Thursday," News 8, Austin, Texas, 10 May 2005.
• Russian officials announced on May 5th they broke up Chechen rebel plans to attack towns in its turbulent North Caucasus with poison and explosives. The group had planned to use powerful liquid cyanide-based substances sufficient to kill 3,000 to 4,000 people in their attacks on towns in the North Caucasus and elsewhere.
  -Murphy, Kim, "Russia: Attacks Were Timed To Visit By Vips Poison, Explosives Reportedly Seized," Chicago Tribune 06 May 2005.
  -"Russia says foils Chechen poison plot before VE-day," Reuters 05 May 2005.