Potassium cyanide absorbs water from air (is hygroscopic or deliquescent). It is usually shipped as capsules, tablets, or pellets. Hydrogen cyanide gas released by potassium cyanide has a distinctive bitter almond odor (others describe a musty “old sneakers smell”), but a large proportion of people cannot detect it the odor does not provide adequate warning of hazardous concentrations. Potassium cyanide is used commercially for fumigation, electroplating, and extracting gold and silver from ores. It has whole-body (systemic) effects, particularly affecting those organ systems most sensitive to low oxygen levels: the central nervous system (brain), the cardiovascular system (heart and blood vessels), and the pulmonary system (lungs). Exposure to potassium cyanide can be rapidly fatal. DESCRIPTION: Potassium cyanide releases hydrogen cyanide gas, a highly toxic chemical asphyxiant that interferes with the body’s ability to use oxygen.APPEARANCE: White, granular or crystalline solid.

Potassium cyanide antidote