- Author
- McNamara, B. P.
- Title
- Cyanide Portion of the CS Molecule.
- Coporate
- SMUEA-RCI, Edgewood Arsenal, MD
- Report
- EASP 1100-2, November 1971, 29 p.
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
- cyanide | animals | toxicology | pyrolysis products | cigarettes | smoking | hydrogen cyanide | decomposition products
- Abstract
- Under some circumstances, the burning of CS may produce small amounts of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) as well as CS and its decomposition products. However, the chance of cyanide poisoning from burning CS is extremely remote. In the case of fire where CS is stored, unmasked personnel would be driven from a builidng by the effects of CS before they would be subjected to a significant dose of HCN. If a burning building contains a large amount of CS, the hazards associated with HCN generated from burning the CS would be much less than the other hazards associated with fire; e.g., flame, heat, smoke, carbon monoxide, oxygen-deficiency, and falling debris. Burning CS creates a dense, black smoke. To prevent inhalation of smoke, CS, and its decomposition products, firefighters entering the burning building should wear protective masks, such as self-contained or supplied-air masks capable of sustaining life in oxygen-deficient or carbon monoxide atmospheres. Personnel who have been incapacitated by large doses of smoke, CS, or related decomposition products should be treated as for smoke inhalation.