Cyanide

Industrial processes (gold mining, electroplating, chemical manufacturing), building fires and tobacco smoke, and certain plants (cassava, bitter almonds, apricot pits) [1][2][3].

Breathing smoke or workplace air, eating improperly processed cassava or swallowing fruit pits, drinking contaminated water, or smoking [1][2][4].

High levels can cause headache, confusion, seizures, cardiac arrest, and death within minutes; lower, repeated exposures can affect the nervous system and thyroid (goiter), especially with low iodine intake [1][3].

Workers using cyanide, firefighters and fire victims, people who smoke, communities relying on cassava-based diets (especially if iodine-deficient), plus infants and pregnant people [1][2][3].

Don’t smoke; use and maintain smoke alarms; avoid eating bitter almonds or fruit pits; prepare cassava correctly (peel, soak/ferment, cook thoroughly); follow local water advisories; at work, use ventilation, monitors, and PPE as directed [1][2][3][4].