Cyanide Control Experience —
Indiana Stream Pollution Control Board
RICHARD A. WOODLEY, Chief
Industrial Waste Section
Division of Sanitary Engineering
Indiana State Board ofHealth
Indianapolis, Indiana
INTRODUCTION
The Indiana Stream Pollution Control Board (hereinafter referred to as the
Board) adopted a cyanide control Regulation, SPC-2, which became effective
January 10, 1953.   The regulation reads as follows:
"Any person, firm or corporation engaged in manufacture or other process in
which cyanides or cyanogen compounds are used shall have each and every room,
where said compounds are used or stored, so constructed that none of said compounds can escape therefrom by means of building sewer, drain or otherwise directly or indirectly into any sewer system or watercourse;
"Provided, however, that on application to and prior approval by the Stream
Pollution Control Board, limited amounts, which it is determined would not be
detrimental to public health or which would not pollute any lake, river, stream,
drainage or roadside ditch or other watercourse, shall not come under the provision of the paragraph above."
Historically, water pollution control literature has outlined the potential and
real public health dangers that confronted cyanide users. In 1948, Miller (1) outlined 14 cases of accidental and intentional discharges of cyanides to Indiana
watercourses. In each of these cases either fish or cattle were killed. Two of the
cyanide pollution cases involved public water supplies. In 1951, Vogel and
Bloodgood (2) outlined the mechanics and effects of cyanide poisoning as pertain
to both humans and animals. In 1954, Poole, Holtje and Belter (3) discussed the
beginning and the first year of Indiana's cyanide control program. The presentation (3) outlined an accident that occurrea in 1952, that resulted in a three-mile-
long "slug" of cyanide that killed practically all aquatic life in the Wabash River
for approximately 60 miles and endangered a public water supply. This accident
was the proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back" for six months later the
Board's cyanide control regulation was adopted. It is the purpose of this paper to
review the first 10 years of the board's cyanide control program -- 1953 to 1963
-- and to report progress.
DISCUSSION
Figure 1 and 2 show page one and page two of a form entitled "Survey of Use
of Cyanide and Cyanogen Compounds" that has been submitted to all known or
presumed users of cyanide in Indiana. When the cyanide control program was
initiated, 920 of these forms were submitted to Indiana metal finishing industries
which resulted in a 91 per cent return that indicated that 235 plants employed
cyanide-bearing chemicals in one form or another (3).
Currently, the largest usage of cyanide is for electroplating. Included in the
electroplating group are the electrolytic tinning lines in the steel plants which
employ the Halogen" process. Cyanides are also employed for metal stripping
chemical manufacturing,  heat treating,  metal pickling and laboratory analyses.
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