THE world's largest producer of sodium cyanide, CyPlus of Germany has introduced a new logistics concept at one of its major factories in a bid to improve cyanide transportation safety. It said the concept, based on safe and efficient product storage, was coupled with a transport and delivery method that eliminated disposable packaging and allowed customers to handle toxic cyanides safely and easily.

Introduced at the company's Wesseling plant (it also produces cyanides at other sites in Europe and North America), the new system is said to meet all modern requirements for storage, handling and transportation safety for the hazardous material.

"This new warehouse is so organised that both disposable and reusable packaging in a variety of product forms can be supplied to customers as speedily as possible," said Wesseling plant manager Norbert Steier.

CyPlus, part of the Degussa Group, now plans to build facilities for filling special bulk containers, to be used in its solid-to-liquid systems (SLS) in which cyanide will be transported in the form of briquettes to customers' doorsteps. For customers using cyanide in aqueous solution form, solid cyanide is dissolved in the container. The aqueous solution stays in the closed system and is later pumped into a storage tank.