7. Health, safety and environmental risks

The mining industry accounts for around 13% of the world's cyanide consumption, and during the 20th century hundreds of millions of kilos of cyanide were manufactured, transported, stored and used. Personnel in direct contact with cyanide are trained and monitored. But when cyanide is used in dilute concentrations, persistent reactions from the general public are common, because it's all about protecting the environment. In the precious metals industry in the USA, there were only 3 deaths attributable to cyanide in the 20th century. Worldwide, between 1975 and 2000, there were 33 major accidents involving cyanide. The precious metals mining and metallurgy industry accounted for 14 accidents, 10 of which were caused by dyke failures, 2 by transport operations and 2 by pipeline ruptures. The direct action of cyanide was evident in 10 of these, but no human deaths were recorded