Chemical Attribution Signatures of Cyanogen Chloride from Commercial Sources

Department of Homeland Securitys Science and Technology Directorate has expressed an interest in the discovery of chemical attribution signatures CAS, which are used to provide a link between a given hazardous chemical and its source i.e., a synthetic pathway or a commercial vendor. CAS are generally impurities present in a final product that are indicative of its source. Since 2005, the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center Forensic Analytical Center members have performed purity analyses on 70 cylinders of cyanogen chloride CK procured from three different commercial vendors. This study provides CAS data that are relevant to the three vendors and also examines production differences in CK over time.