COPPER CYANIDE

Group Members:

Lynette Lim

Lim Pei Rong

Lin Huang

Khoo Lileen

Chemical Logistics

HazardsFire Hazard:Special hazards of combustion products : Toxic hydrogen cyanide gas may form in fires.

Potential Health EffectsEye: May cause eye irritation. Inflammation of the eye is characterized by redness, watering, and itching.

Ingestion: May cause gastrointestinal irritation with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. May cause tissue anoxia, characterized by weakness, headache, dizziness, confusion, cyanosis (bluish skin due to deficient oxygenation of the blood), weak and irregular heart beat, collapse, unconsciousness, convulsions, coma and death.

Skin: May cause skin irritation. May be absorbed through the skin in harmful amounts. If absorbed, causes symptoms similar to those of ingestion. Skin inflammation is characterized by itching, scaling, reddening, or, occasionally, blistering.

Inhalation: Inhalation of high concentrations may cause central nervous system effects characterized by nausea, headache, dizziness, unconsciousness and coma. May cause cyanosis (bluish discoloration of skin due to deficient oxygenation of the blood). May cause respiratory tract irritation. Exposure may cause blood abnormalities.

Hazards

Potential Chronic Health Effects:

Extremely hazardous in the case of ingestion, of inhalation.

Very hazardous in case of skin contact ,of eye contact, which caused irritation.

The substance is toxic to blood, kidneys, lungs, the nervous system, liver, mucous membranes.

Repeated exposure may cause central nervous system damage.

Chronic exposure to cyanide solutions may lead to the development of a "cyanide" rash, characterized by itching, and by macular, papular, and vesicular eruptions, and may be accompanied by secondary infections.

Chronic exposure may produce loss of appetite, headache, weakness, nausea, dizziness, and upper respiratory tract irritation.

Hazards

First Aid measured needed

Eyes: Immediately flush eyes with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes, occasionally lifting the upper and lower eyelids.Get medical aid immediately.

Skin: Get medical aid immediately. Immediately flush skin with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes while removing contaminated clothing and shoes.

Serious Skin contact: Wash with a disinfectant soap and cover the contaminated skin with an anti-bacterial cream. Seek immediate medical attention.

Inhalation: Get medical aid immediately. Remove from exposure and move to fresh air immediately. Do NOT use mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Keep warm and at rest. Administer oxygen. If breathing has ceased apply artificial respiration using oxygen and a suitable mechanical device such as a bag and a mask. SPEED IS ESSENTIAL, OBTAIN MEDICAL AID IMMEDIATELY.

Ingestion: Do not induce vomiting. Get medical aid immediately. Do not give anything by mouth.

First Aid measured needed

Fire and Explosion DataFIRE AND EXPLOSION HAZARDS: Due to the presence of cyanide compounds, this

solution presents a significant health hazard to fire-fighters. When involved in a fire, this material may decompose and produce irritating fumes and toxic gases (i.e. oxides of carbon, nitrogen and potassium, as wells as cyanide and copper compounds).

Flammability of the product: May be combustible at high temperature.

Products of combustion: Some metallic oxides

Fire hazards in presence of substances: slightly flammable to flammable in presence of oxidizing materials.

Fire fighting media and instructions:Small fire: use dry chemical powderLarge fire: use water spray, fog or foam. Do not use water jet.

Applications of Copper Cyanide in the industriesCopper Plating

A cyanide copper solution can be used in either rack orbarrel plating.

For instance,

Nihon Kagaku Sangyo Co., Ltd. engages in the production and sale of industrial chemicals and building materials in Japan. The company offers metallic salts, as well as metallic oxides used primarily in electronic industry; copper cyanide, used in the plating industry;

•Mining

Copper Cyanide are widely used by the mining industry to assist in the extraction of both precious and non-precious metals from rock.

For instance,

In gold mining, a dilute copper cyanide solution is sprayed on crushed ore that is placed in piles, commonly called heaps, or mixed with ore in enclosed vats. The cyanide attaches to minute particles of gold to form a water-soluble, gold-cyanide compound from which the gold can later be recovered.

Applications of Copper Cyanide in the industries

Other industrial applications

oElectroplatingoMetal ProcessingoSteel hardeningoPhotographic applicationsoSynthetic rubber production

Applications of Copper Cyanide in the industries

Some pictures

Statistics of the world using Copper CyanideAbout 90% ( i.e 18% of total production) is used in mining around the world, mostly for

gold recovery.

Articles

Usage of copper cyanide in US

• The United States uses an estimated 1.838 billion pounds of cyanide (2004) annually for various industries including gold and silver mining, electroplating, production of plastics, synthetic fibers, pigments and dyes, and pesticides. Cyanide is primarily used as an intermediary in the production of other materials

Usage of copper cyanide in US

Accidents on copper cyanide

Article 1The Daily post, New Zealand (11/1/07)

POISON SCARE: illegal trail of deadly cyanide closes reserve

The daily post in New Zealand reports that locals were shocked to find a deadly 900m trail of cyanide laid out on a popular Tikitapu Scenic Reserve track near Lake Okareka. The cyanide was in the form of a blue-green paste and laid out like bait about 35m apart over 900 meters of track. Cyanide is extremely dangerous, and the area has been closed down so as to avoid harming humans or animals.

Article 2

Reuters (9/28/07)Nine die as China house collapses in cyanide

A house built on top of an abandoned pool of cyanide collapsed in a gold- mining area of central china, killing nine people and sending seven others to the hospital. The floor of the house, made of a single wooden board over the pond, gave way and 16 people fell into a 2 meter deep chemical pool that was used to extract gold from ore.

Article 3

All Africa (08/26/2007)Mining company expresses regret for cyanide spillage

This article reports that the Bogoso Gold Limited mining company (Dumasi Village. Africa) has issued a press release announcing that one of the mine’s tailing delivery pipes developed a leak, releasing about 25 to 40 drums of mill tailings- which contain cyanide – into the environment on June 16,2006.

Article 4

BIA (8/21/07)Cyanide gold mine closed

This articles reports that Canadian Eldorado Gold-Tuprag company has been prevented from further extracting gold with cyanide by the governor’s office of Usak province, in western Turkey. 2 weeks before the opening of the mine in july 2006, 1800 people in Esme had been poisoned by hydrogen cyanide coming from the mine. The mine was opened by Hilmi Guler, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.

Article 5

Associated Press(5/25/07)Brother, sister of cyanide murder suspect indicted in fraud probe

It reports that the brother and sister of a doctor suspected of killing his wife with cyanide in 2005 were indicted on charges of stealing more than $2 million from the accounts of their brother and dead sister- in- law. The article notes that their brother, Dr Yazeed Essa, is fighting extradition Cyprus. He disappeared after he was indicted on aggravated murder charges in Cleveland in the 2005 death of his 38 year old wife.

MSDS

- Is a form containing data regarding the properties of a particular substance. - to provide workers and emergency personnel with procedures for handling or working with that substance in a safe manner- includes information such as physical data. MSDS are used for cataloguing information on chemical logistics.

How do a Logistician find the MSDS useful in the job?As logisticians, we would find the MSDS useful on many aspects in our jobs in the future.

Copper cyanide is a poison that reacts violently with magnesium. When heated to decomposition, it emits very toxic fumes containing hydrogen cyanide, but it is not flammable itself.

For example, some warehouses store chemicals and pack them into containers or bags. Warehouse assistants who handle or pack chemicals or deliverymen who transport may be exposed to the chemicals. It is therefore important that employees who work with chemicals are aware of the hazards, trained in handling the chemicals and follow safe work practices to avoid chemical exposure.

How do a Logistician find the MSDS useful in the job?

As a logisticians, it is necessary for us to follow the safe work practices for handling hazardous chemicals. For safety concern, we must ensure that every stored chemical has a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). The classification of chemicals, labelling of chemical containers and format of MSDS should follow the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals.

How do a Logistician find the MSDS useful in the job?

Furthermore, while dealing with chemical spills, we logisticians must follow appropriate decontamination procedures when handling toxic chemical spills, referring to the MSDS for specific recommendations.

How do a Logistician find the MSDS useful in the job?

Reference

• http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/ms/cmy/content/1997/25.pdf

• http://www.metts.com.au/cyanide-management-tropics.html