Significance and Use

Hydrogen cyanide is highly toxic. In relatively low quantities, hydrogen cyanide can cause asphyxia and death.

The National Fire Protection Association has assigned a flammability rating of 4 (severe fire hazard) to hydrogen cyanide.

1. Scope

1.1 This practice is used to determine the concentration of gaseous hydrogen cyanide (HCN) from any combustion device or atmosphere where cyanide may be present. While primarily designed for the measurement of gas phase HCN, the sample collection described in this practice also includes cyanide ion (CN ^- ) absorbed particles that may be present in the sampling atmosphere.

1.1.1 Samples can be collected from a closed chamber such as the NBS smoke box described in Test Method E662 provided it is equipped with sampling ports.

1.1.2 Open chambers such as industrial work areas or large scale fires can be monitored for HCN with this practice.

1.1.3 The HCN emissions of a flow through system can be determined by sampling from its discharge stack. Examples of such systems include large scale manufacturing applications and the cone calorimeter described in Test Method E1354 .

1.2 This practice can be used to monitor HCN levels in lab scale fire smoke effluents in order to estimate toxicity of gases produced from burning materials. See Guide E800 .

1.3 The concentration range of hydrogen cyanide will be dependent on the volume of gas sampled, the volume of sodium hydroxide solution placed in the impinger during sampling, and the analytical method used to measure cyanide. For example, the lower limit of detection would be 0.002-mg/m ³ when 0.1-m ³ of combustion effluent is collected into 100-mL sodium hydroxide solution based on a detection limit of 0.002 mg/L cyanide in the impinger solution when using the flow injection analysis (FIA) system described in Test Method D6888 .

1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

2. Referenced Documents (purchase separately) The documents listed below are referenced within the subject standard but are not provided as part of the standard.

ASTM Standards

D1193 Specification for Reagent Water

D1356 Terminology Relating to Sampling and Analysis of Atmospheres

D2036 Test Methods for Cyanides in Water

D2777 Practice for Determination of Precision and Bias of Applicable Test Methods of Committee D19 on Water

D3154 Test Method for Average Velocity in a Duct (Pitot Tube Method)

D3614 Guide for Laboratories Engaged in Sampling and Analysis of Atmospheres and Emissions

D3685/D3685M Test Methods for Sampling and Determination of Particulate Matter in Stack Gases

D4841 Practice for Estimation of Holding Time for Water Samples Containing Organic and Inorganic Constituents

D5337 Practice for Flow Rate Adjustment of Personal Sampling Pumps

D6696 Guide for Understanding Cyanide Species

D6888 Test Method for Available Cyanide with Ligand Displacement and Flow Injection Analysis (FIA) Utilizing Gas Diffusion Separation and Amperometric Detection

D7365 Practice for Sampling, Preservation and Mitigating Interferences in Water Samples for Analysis of Cyanide

E337 Test Method for Measuring Humidity with a Psychrometer (the Measurement of Wet- and Dry-Bulb Temperatures)

E662 Test Method for Specific Optical Density of Smoke Generated by Solid Materials

E800 Guide for Measurement of Gases Present or Generated During Fires

E1354 Test Method for Heat and Visible Smoke Release Rates for Materials and Products Using an Oxygen Consumption Calorimeter

Keywords

amperometry; combustion gases; cyanide; fire gases; flow injection analysis; hydrogen cyanide; stack emissions; workplace monitoring; Combustion; Effluents; Hydrogen cyanide;

ICS Code

ICS Number Code 13.040.40 (Stationary source emissions)

DOI: 10.1520/D7295-11

ASTM International is a member of CrossRef.

ASTM D7295