According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), sodium cyanide is a white crystal-like almond-coloured solid that is typically used industrially for metal cleaning
One of the two ships involved in the North Sea Stena Immaculate collision today was carrying more than a dozen containers of a potentially dangerous industrial chemical, it has been reported.
The Solong, a Portuguese-flagged vessel that reportedly tore at the Stena during an incident at around 10am this morning, was carrying 15 containers of sodium cyanide amongst its cargo. A report from Lloyds List Intelligence cited by the BBC states that it was hauling the chemical during the crash, which sent plumes of black smoke into the skies above the Port of Grimsby at 10am.
The report doesn’t state whether any of this was sent into the waters around the port, the waters of which are currently being diluted by jet fuel after it leaked from the Stena. According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), sodium cyanide is a white, crystalline solid coloured in faint almond that comes in the form of salts.
Cyanide salts can be used in multiple ways, including for industrial metals cleaning, plating, and extraction, and to make other chemicals. While it isn’t the most toxic of the cyanide compounds, cyanide salts are still dangerous to humans, and exposure can cause headaches, nausea, dizziness, nervousness, confusion, changes in heart rate and drowsiness.
In the most serious cases, cyanide poisoning can cause heart and breathing problems, and even possibly death. Crawley, the US-based firm responsible for managing the Stena, said that all 32 of its crewmembers – who abandoned ship following the crash – are accounted for.
One of them is currently in hospital after the crew were evacuated in a series of boats. But the risk from sodium cyanide extends to all aquatic and marine life in the area. Cyanide salts are soluble in water, and in the sea could interfere with the respiration of any animals with which it comes into contact.
Dr Mark Hartl, a marine ecotoxicologist from the Centre for Marine Biodiversity & Biotechnology at Heriot-Watt University, told Sky News the aquatic life in the area may have been spared due to the type of oil the Stena was carrying. He said: “Whilst the images look worrying, from the perspective of the impact to the aquatic environment it’s less of a concern than if this had been crude oil because most of the jet fuel will evaporate very quickly.
“Also, the fact that it happened out at sea and not closer to land or within an estuary setting is fortuitous and will minimize the environmental impact. However, it will have an acute effect on organisms in the immediate aftermath of the spill and lead to various degrees of stress in exposed animals.”
