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I have had a lot of contact with CS as well- much of that in enclosed spaces. I had an M17AI mask failure in a sea hut when there was a gross overconcentration of the stuff inside- you could barely see your hand in front of your face even when the mask was working for the concentration of airborne particulates). That was unpleasant- I collapsed and my lungs seized up for a few minutes. A couple of guys dragged me away by my field gear.

This the first I have ever heard of CD having any 'cyanide content', whatsoever. I seem to recall that the operative theory way back when concerning Waco was that fire changed the chemistry of airborne CS into something different and more lethal. I'm not a chemistry geek, so I will leave the particulars of that question for someone who can better answer it.

As far as fire goes- fine airborne particulates tend to be extremely supportive of combustion. Dust in grain elevators for example, is not to be exposed to open flame as I under stand correctly. I am not sure why the suspended particulate in CS would behave differently; I would expect it to be a hazard in a fire situation, as well.

"Dust in grain elevators for example, is not to be exposed to open flame as I under stand correctly. I am not sure why the suspended particulate in CS would behave differently; I would expect it to be a hazard in a fire situation, as well."

All dusts pose a potential explosive hazard when suspended in air. After the initial explosion, the dust hazard is gone and a fire continues burning in other flammable material in many instances. I don't personally know about the specifics of CS powder but I would think the initial blast would consume it. In any dust explosion the concentration of dust and air has to be in the proper proportions.

Good morning.
"This the first I have ever heard of CD having any 'cyanide content', whatsoever."

You answer that one yourself in the next sentence. It isn't that there is cyanide in the powder, but that chemical complexes can become something else when exposed to environmental changes. When I was trained in it's use, I was told that it was lethal in closed spaces but nothing about the effect of heat. I didn't care at the time because of who I was using it on. My RF/PFs didn't like using it one bit.

Mt Carmel was a firetrap. There were even hay bales stacked inside, adding to the fuel provided by the wooden building and the people outside knew it. The engineer vehicles that poked holes in the walls and injected the massive amounts of gas created the perfect environment for a holocaust.

I had sort of buried this event. Now I'll have to do so again.

Michael Frazier