Posted on 08/18/2015 12:02:10 PM PDT by Kartographer
The story behind the chemical explosion that rocked Chinas Tianjin port last Wednesday continues to evolve amid fears that the public could be at risk from the hundreds of tonnes of sodium cyanide stored at the facility.
More specifically, Mondays heightened concerns were related to the possibility that rain could interact with the water soluble chemical, releasing deadly hydrogen cyanide gas into the air. "First rain expected today or tonight. Avoid ALL contact with skin," a text message purported to have originated at the US Embassy in Beijing read. The Embassy would later deny the messages authenticity, perhaps at the behest of the Politburo which has kicked off the censorship campaign by shutting down hundreds of social media accounts for "spreading blast rumors."
(Excerpt) Read more at zerohedge.com ...
With China’s markets crashing I would not doubt someone is getting insurance to cover their losses.
“Cyanide Thunderstorm great name for a heavy metal band.”
They’ll never get a gig in Bhopol, India.
Is the powder lightweight enough to be suspended in significant quantities in air? I’d be skeptical. I could believe tons of it got scattered on surrounding land and buildings in the blasts, but not suspended in the air.
Oh wait, I see what they’re fearing... the stuff, now lying on the ground, is going to get soaked with rain water.
Isn’t it possible to chelate this stuff with the right chemical, such as ferric or ferrous compounds? Scatter some rust around.
I quit watching because I got sick of them giving every winter weather system a horrible name and then giving us 12 hours of total panic over a four-inch snowfall.
Sodium cyanide is a very useful industrial chemical, especially in the extraction of gold and other precious metals from ore.
Now imagine some strong out flow winds from an approaching thunder storm picks up the cyanide and bows it up into the air then the rain comes and mixes with it....
Barry is taking notes.
Cyanado!
Bunch of VWs too.
“I guess its only bad if they have acid rain, as that converts the NaCN to hydrogen cyanide (HCN).”
I would say that a Cyanide Thunderstorm beats mere “acid rain” all to heck.
It's all a matter of concentration. Almonds have that smell because of very small amounts of hydrogen cyanide. In small concentrations, the smell is rather pleasant. In large concentrations, it effectively shuts down cellular respiration, if I interpret the Wikipedia reference correctly.
Look at the good side of it! All that cyanide will dissolve gold in any ore that might be in the soil!
Wonder if any cyanide went into the Animas a few weeks back.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.