Sodium Ferrocyanide - 60 year old antique chemset

[Sagu]

So, a friend just picked up an antique chemistry set from the 50s, containing all sorts of interesting stuff - among it sodium ferrocyanide. Out of curiosity, can this photodecompose or react with an acid such as HCl or H2SO4 to produce hydrogen cyanide? Any risk of cracking it open without ventilation?

 

[Borek]

I would not mix it with acid, but other than that it is not especially dangerous, as long as treated seriously.

 

[Sagu]

I would not mix it with acid, but other than that it is not especially dangerous, as long as treated seriously.

Thanks. Interestingly, the kit is labeled as containing no toxic or explosive chemicals, yet there's definitely some stuff I wouldn't be handling without gloves and a mask. I find it interesting that it contains sodium bisulfate and sodium ferrocyanide together.

 

[Borek]

This is sad. I mean - while obviously safety standards 60 years ago were much lower, and they resulted in some accidents, they are IMHO too high today, to the absurd level.

 

[DDTea]

It's possible to make hydrogen cyanide and take a cautious whiff of it. It's a neat experiment to see if you are genetically able to smell hydrogen cyanide. In fact, I've done just that: I used potassium ferricyanide and concentrated sulfuric acid in a small test tube, then carefully wafted some of the blue fumes. I'm one of the people who can smell it (I was really itching to figure this out). Looking back, though, it was a bit reckless, and I shouldn't have done it alone (a good rule when working with cyanides is to never work alone).

Except for the acid thing, ferricyanides and ferrocyanides are perfectly safe. I wouldn't handle them like a teddy bear though.

 

[NobodySpecial]

My favorite http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorine_trifluoride

"It is, of course, extremely toxic, but that's the least of the problem. It is hypergolic with every known fuel, and so rapidly hypergolic that no ignition delay has ever been measured. It is also hypergolic with such things as cloth, wood, and test engineers, not to mention asbestos, sand, and water — with which it reacts explosively.

It can be kept in some of the ordinary structural metals because of the formation of a thin film of insoluble metal fluoride which protects the bulk of the metal. If, however, this coat is melted or scrubbed off... the operator is confronted with the problem of coping with a metal-fluorine fire. For dealing with this situation, I have always recommended a good pair of running shoes."