Kenyan officials have issued an urgent appeal for assistance in locating containers of sodium cyanide, a highly toxic chemical, that were looted from an overturned lorry near Nairobi.
Sodium cyanide is extremely dangerous and can be fatal if swallowed or inhaled even in small amounts. Health officials have also warned that it poses a significant risk to the environment.
It is not uncommon in Kenya for trucks to be looted following road accidents. After the lorry overturned late on Saturday, several containers of sodium cyanide were taken by people who rushed to the scene on the busy Nairobi-Nakuru highway, about 35km (22 miles) from Nairobi.
The government has urged people to avoid the site, and the US embassy has advised its citizens to take a detour. The accident resulted in a chemical spillage on the tarmac, although the cause of the lorry overturning remains unclear. Authorities have not provided details about the condition of the driver.
The national environmental agency has called on the public to alert the nearest police station immediately if they spot the containers. “The public is also cautioned against coming into contact with the contents of the containers, which are white substances in pellet form,” the agency stated.
Kenya’s health ministry emphasised that sodium cyanide should only be handled by individuals wearing protective gear. “Sodium cyanide interferes with oxygen use, leading to rapid death if ingested or inhaled in high doses. Symptoms include headache, dizziness, rapid breathing, nausea, vomiting, and convulsions,” the ministry warned.
The ministry also noted that sodium cyanide can contaminate soil and groundwater, persisting in the environment for a long time and accumulating in the food chain. The chemical is commercially used for fumigation, extracting gold and silver from ores, and chemical manufacturing.
Local media reported that while some individuals took away containers of the chemical, others left empty-handed upon realising the substance was of no immediate use to them.
