> Before this gets blown out of porportion I will shed some light.
> In the 50's & 60's the *conconction* talked about was used to fumigate
> supers in storage.

I don't know about sodium cyanide, but calcium cyanide, brand name
'Cyanogas', was routinely used by beekeepers for many years to kill colonies
of bees at the end of the season, without any incident I ever heard of.

Cyanogas, calcium cyanide, is a grey granule, and beekeepers handled it
without a lot of concern.  Some beekeepers killed hundreds of colonies in a
day or two, using it.  In Western Canada, everyone had some, and I think I
just threw out the last of what I had very recently.

The method was to spread a spoonful inside the entrance and walk away.
After moisture from the air came into contact with the grey dust, the gas
came off, killed the bees, then dissipated.

Everyone tried to avoid the gas, but nobody worried about the residue left
on the floorboard afterwards, and I gather it was harmless.  Sometimes it
got onto the brood frames or the warehouse floor.  No one used any
protection other than a veil and bee gloves, and, although a few who were
careless got a bit groggy now and then, no permanent harm seems to have come
of it.  AFAIK, either cyanide kills you or it doesn't.  No residues stay in
the body if you survive.

Although cyanogas is illegal for Alberta beekeepers since 1987, and everyone
has lost interest anyways, I gather Cyanogas is still around.  See
http://www.google.com/search?hl=&cat=&meta=&q=Cyanogas

AFAIK, the outlawing of Cyanogas had little to do with food safety.  The
concern was operator, transport, and storage safety and security.  The Wild
West is not as wild as it used to be.

allen
A Beekeeper's Diary: http://www.honey beeworld.com/diary/

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