Potassium cyanide

Drug ingredient

CAS 151-50-8

This chemical is an active pharmaceutical ingredient used in FDA-regulated drugs.

US production100.3K lb

Import value, 2024$3M

Import volume1.2M lb

Import dependency92%

Top sourceGermany 38%

Production is reported production, not a complete census of factories. Production reporting year: 2023. Import value and source-country shares describe a shared customs category, not a separate chemical measurement.

Where It Comes From

Customs basis: HS 283719 · basket

EPA reports by year

2023: US production 100.3K lb · Imports 1.2M lb
2019: US production Confidential · Imports Confidential

These shares come from HS customs code 283719, which covers 8 tracked chemicals in total. They estimate the category's origin mix, not this chemical specifically.

Source Countries

Country of origin for US imports, from Census customs data (2024).

DE 38%GermanyCZ 25%Czech RepublicKR 19%South KoreaJP 16%JapanCN 2%China

EPA-registered manufacturers (1)

Companies that report making or importing this chemical to the EPA. Registration is US-centric and does not indicate import origin.

Univertical

EPA-registered importers (3)

Companies that report making or importing this chemical to the EPA. Registration is US-centric and does not indicate import origin.

Phibro Animal Health

Special Materials

United Mineral And Chemical

2 FDA-registered drug labelers

Hahnemann Laboratories, INC.

Professional Complementary Health Formulas

Why It Matters

Sectors

HealthConstructionMetals & MiningCore Chemicals

Downstream Uses

Appears in 2 drug and cosmetic product listings (FDA).

•Kali Cyanatum
•Toxagent Detox 6035

FDA Shortage Status

Whether any manufacturer currently reports this drug as in shortage on the FDA Drug Shortages database. "Active Shortage" means at least one presentation has status "current."

No FDA shortage records

Industrial Uses

Used in 4 sectors as 1 functional role.

•Plating agent in Primary Metal Manufacturing (100%)Processing as a reactant
•Plating agent in Asphalt Paving, Roofing, and Coating Materials Manufacturing (100%)Processing—incorporation into formulation, mixture, or reaction product
•Plating agent in Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (100%)Processing—incorporation into formulation, mixture, or reaction product
•Plating agent in All Other Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing (42%)Processing—repackaging

Chemical Identity

CAS151-50-8

PubChem CID9032

DTXSIDDTXSID0024268

FormulaCKN

Mol. Weight65.116 g/mol

SMILES[C-]#N.[K+]

Data Sources

EPA CompTox (DSSTox) · DTXSID0024268Retrieved 2026-04-06
PubChem · compound 9032Retrieved 2026-04-06
EPA Chemical Data ReportingReporting year: 2023 · Retrieved 2026-10-04
FDA National Drug Code directoryRetrieved 2026-04-07
US Census international tradeReporting year: 2024 · Retrieved 2026-10-04

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Brief citations

Potassium cyanide (CAS 151-50-8) https://chemicalindependence.com/chemical/151-50-8/ EPA CompTox (DSSTox): DTXSID0024268. Retrieved 2026-04-06. https://comptox.epa.gov/dashboard/chemical/details/DTXSID0024268 PubChem: 9032. Retrieved 2026-04-06. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/9032 EPA Chemical Data Reporting: 151-50-8. Reporting year: 2023. https://www.epa.gov/chemical-data-reporting FDA National Drug Code directory: CAS 151-50-8. Retrieved 2026-04-07. https://open.fda.gov/data/ndc/ US Census international trade: HS 283719 for CAS 151-50-8. Reporting year: 2024. https://usatrade.census.gov/