Chemical terrorism cyanide

Eckstein M (2004) Cyanide as a chemical terrorism weapon./EMS 29(8) Suppl 22-31. 

The first case of an A1 Qaeda terrorist attack linked to chemical terrorism is tiie February 1993 World Trade Center bombing, as it is commonly believed that the explosives were mixed with a cyanide compound. The reason is that during the trial the judge stated "You had sodium cyanide around, and I m sure it was in the bomb. Thank God the sodium cyanide burned instead of vaporizing. If the sodium cyanide had vaporized, it is clear what would have happened is the cyanide gas would have been sucked into the north tower and everybody in the north tower would have been killed. That to my mind is exactly what was intended" (Parachini, 2000). 

Had the broadcast and print media reported at the time about a possible cyanide attack by al-Qaeda, they would have alarmed people in New York City, the greater metropolitan area, and beyond. After all, Americans believe that the country is ill prepared for biological, chemical, or nuclear terror strikes. In September 2005, for example, three of four Americans believed that the United States is not adequately prepared for... 

Coppock, R.W. (2009). Potential agents that can cause contamination of animal feedstuffs and terror. In Handbook of Toxicology of Chemical Warfare Agents (R.C. Gupta, ed.), pp. 739 5. Academic Press/Elsevier, New York. Cunningham, S.A. (2005). Incident, accident, catastrophe cyanide on the Danube. Disasters 29 99-128. 

By the final two decades of the twentieth century, individuals and small groups learned how to obtain and use biological and chemical weapons effectively. The tamper resistant pharmaceutical packaging we are familiar with today is a consequence of the intentional contamination of Extra Strength Tylenol capsules with cyanide (1). The first documented case of domestic biological terrorism occurred in Oregon in 1984, when a religious cult, the Rajneesh commune, sprinkled... 

Concerns about the possible use of chemical agents in acts of terrorism have increased in the decade since the nerve agent Sarin caused a mass casualty incident in the Tokyo subway system. Chemical warfare poisons include nerve agents, vesicants, cyanides, riot control agents, and pulmonary irritants. Presenting symptoms as well as the clinical circumstances may help identify the agent and lead to effeotive treatment as well as proper decontamination. 

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