Federal laws require immediate notification upon any release exceeding 10 lb of sodium cyanide. The facility is next to a grade school and a fraternal hall. The release occurred when a temporary holding tank was being moved, tipped over, and spilled the contents onto a blacktop parking lot. The material flowed over to a business neighbor's blacktop parking lot as well and, finally, to a park. The release did not enter a storm-water or sanitary sewer system, and the facility did the necessary cleanup.
Sodium cyanide is a corrosive, highly toxic chemical.
Exposure to it may cause nosebleeds, headaches, nausea, and dizziness.