POTASSIUM CYANIDE FBI removes chemical from shed

CORTLAND -- City police contacted the FBI to investigate and remove a quantity of potassium cyanide from a Terre Hill Drive resident's shed.
The chemical was under double lock and key in the 200 block, but should not have been kept in a residential neighborhood, Police Chief Gary Mink said.
The property owner is a retired chemist, and no criminal activity was found. It is not illegal to possess the chemical, Mink noted.
According to a police report and a narrative by FBI agent John Stoll, police received information April 28 from an in-law that the chemical was being kept at the residence.
An officer contacted Don Waldron, Trumbull County Haz-Mat chief, who suggested contacting the FBI's Cleveland field office. Stoll was assigned to follow up the next day.
Stoll learned the man possessed 4 ounces of potassium cyanide. He "indicated he wanted to get rid of the chemical but did not know how," the city police report states.
The FBI narrative adds that the man "would not turn it over to just anyone."
The Haz-Mat office indicated it wouldn't pick up the cyanide unless it was spilled, so Stoll arrived with a one-gallon paint can. The cyanide container was put in the can, which was packed with paper and closed.
Chemical reactions
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, potassium cyanide decomposes on contact with water, humidity, carbon dioxide and acids, producing very toxic hydrogen cyanide gas. The solution in water reacts violently with acid and is corrosive. Nitrogen trichloride explodes on contact with potassium cyanide.
The substance can be absorbed into the body by inhalation, through the skin and by ingestion. Cyanides poison the vital organs of the body -- for example, the lungs, heart and areas of the brain that regulate proper functioning of those organs. Exposure may result in convulsions, unconsciousness and death.
Mink explained that the chemist had worked in northern Virginia and had turned most of his materials and equipment over to a college there.
The enforcement agencies consider the case to be closed.