Chemical Agents of Opportunity for Terrorism: TICs & TIMs

Chemical Agents of Opportunity for Terrorism
Training Support Package
Participant Guide
Slide 8
Chemical Agents of Opportunity for Terrorism:
TICs & TIMs
• Sources of cyanide (solid)
Cyanide
– Industrial applications (electroplating, hardening steel,
mining, fumigation, …)
– Sodium, potassium and calcium cyanide are all readily
purchased on the internet
• Other sources
– Cyanogen chloride
– Acetonitrile, acrylonitrile
– Natural occurring cyanogens (laetrile)
Module Four – Cyanide & Fumigants
8
Given its abundant legitimate uses in industry, cyanide, particularly in salt form can be
easily purchased in a variety of forms – most commonly sodium cyanide, potassium
cyanide, and calcium cyanide.
Cyanide has many industrial applications and potential availability from many sources.
Some of these include:
1. Sodium and potassium salts are widely available from chemical supply companies and
industry.
2. Cyanogen chloride, also known as CK when used as a war agent, is a extremely toxic
chemical compound with the formula CNCl; it is a colorless gas.
3. Acetonitrile, CH3CN, is a colorless liquid and the simplest organic nitrile; it is widely used
as a solvent. It can be metabolised to produce hydrogen cyanide if ingested.
4. Acrylonitrile, CH2CHCN, is a pungent-smelling colorless liquid that often appears yellow
due to impurities. It is an important monomer for the manufacture of useful plastics.
5. Laetrile, or amygdalin, is a naturally occurring compound found in peach and apricot pits
that when ingested, is metabolized by the body to cyanide. It was used in the past
(1970’s) as an anticancer agent in Mexico, and is used by alternative practitioners as
“vitamin B17” in the US.
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