Newsgroups: alt.revisionism
Subject: Prussian Blue: Why the Deniers are Wrong

                
                         PRUSSIAN BLUE:
               Why the Holocaust Deniers are Wrong                 

                 by Brian Harmon and Mike Stein. 
                         (c) August 1994 
                   see copyright notice below      
         


      Since very few cyanide traces have been found in the homicidal 
   gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau, many Holocaust deniers assert 
   that no one was gassed there {1,2}.  They claim that if cyanide 
   gassing occurred in these structures, large traces of cyanide would 
   remain complexed with iron as a compound called prussian blue.  As 
   proof, they point to the fact that large amounts of prussian blue 
   can be found in the small delousing chambers at Auschwitz; there is 
   even some staining on the exterior walls of these structures.  By 
   comparison, the homicidal gas chambers have virtually no staining 
   and relatively weak cyanide traces.  The deniers further claim that 
   the exterior staining on the delousing chambers proves that prussian 
   blue does not "weather away" even when exposed to the elements, so 
   that the lesser amounts of prussian blue found in the homicidal 
   chambers cannot be explained by weathering.  Therefore, say the 
   deniers, the only logical explanation for the small cyanide traces in 
   the homicidal chambers is that cyanide was never used in them for 
   mass murder in the first place - the traces are merely contamination 
   from the delousing operations a few hundred yards away.  

      _The Leuchter Report_, a document written by the self-proclaimed 
   engineer Fred Leuchter {3}, describes the "scientific" sampling he 
   undertook at Auschwitz which "proves" that cyanide could not have 
   been used in the Kremas and Bunkers I and II, the sites in which 
   people were gassed.  Although Leuchter misrepresented his 
   credentials and lied about his experience as an expert of execution 
   hardware, many deniers claim that the report is still scientifically 
   valid.

      While this sounds plausible at first, when one studies the 
   chemistry, toxicology, and physical mechanisms involved, it becomes 
   clear that this reasoning is not valid.  As a minor point, even 
   prussian blue is not eternally stable.  It will "weather away" over 
   time, at a rate which depends heavily on the environment.  Again, 
   however, this is really not important.  The two crucial facts are 
   these: one, the chemical reactions that make prussian blue are very 
   slow, taking many hours to complete.  Two, people die quickly from 
   cyanide, and from very small amounts.  Lice and other insects, on 
   the other hand, require very long exposure to high  concentrations.  
   These two factors explain why there is little prussian blue in the 
   extermination chambers, despite copious staining in rooms used to 
   delouse clothing.
  
      This paper will compare the two uses of cyanide in Auschwitz; 
   both its use in delousing and in murder.  The formation of prussian 
   blue and its solubility in water will also be discussed. We will 
   also examine the Leuchter Report and dissect Leuchter's methods. It 
   should then be clear why one expects fewer traces of cyanide in the 
   homicidal chambers, and also why the deniers have things exactly 
   backwards.

  I. The Auschwitz Gas Chambers

      There were seven gas chambers at Auschwitz: Kremas I - V and 
   Bunkers I and II.  Kremas II, III, IV, and V were full time 
   industrial gas chambers, located on the Birkenau complex of 
   Auschwitz.  These were destroyed by the fleeing Nazis, and none of 
   these are still standing -- only rubble remains {4}. Thus the 
   rubble and any cyanide complexes on it have been exposed to the 
   elements for the past forty nine years.  Bunkers I and II were used 
   while Kremas II-V were under construction, and no trace of them 
   remains either.  Krema I was a small gas chamber and was used only 
   for a short time before it was converted into an air raid shelter 
   by August 1944 (maybe earlier) {5}.   Out of Auschwitz-Birkenau's 
   seven homicidal gas chambers, only Krema I exists as a complete 
   structure today. 
  
      The fact that all but one of the Auschwitz-Birkenau gas 
   chambers have been destroyed must be kept in mind.  The rubble 
   has been exposed to weathering from the rain and wind, which could
   carry away traces of cyanide by bulk flow and erosion.  More 
   cyanide has undoubtedly been removed by dissolution, as prussian 
   blue is not completely insoluble in water.  The delousing chambers 
   were not destroyed, so more traces of many cyanide compounds 
   should be found there.

   II. The Leuchter Report: Cyanide Traces Were Found in the Gas 
   Chambers.  

      Both the Report of the Forensic Research Institute at Krakow and 
   the Revisionist _Leuchter Report_ found traces of cyanide in the 
   extermination facilities at Auschwitz {6, 7}.  In _The Leuchter 
   Report_, from 1.9 to 6.7 mg/Kg of cyanide was found in Krema III, 
   1.1 to 7.9 mg/Kg in Krema I, 1.4 to 2.3 mg/Kg in Krema IV, and 1.7 - 
   4.4 mg/Kg in Krema V.  These low numbers could have been false 
   artifacts of the measurement processes rather than any real signal.  
   To test this, Leuchter tested a sample of gasket material taken from 
   an unrelated building in the camp.  If the cyanide traces in the 
   rubble of homicidal gas chambers were a false signal or if the entire 
   camp was contaminated with cyanide, this gasket material should give 
   a similar response.  Instead, The gasket registered a flat zero 
   rating.  Based on Leuchter's control sample, the cyanide detected in 
   the homicidal gas chambers is real.  Even sites reduced to rubble 
   have traces of cyanide, while his unrelated gasket sample does not.  

      Unfortunately for Leuchter's poorly executed report, any 
   conclusions taken from Leuchter's data are limited by the report's 
   poor design.  He took only two control samples: a negative control 
   that should generate no cyanide reading (the gasket material), and 
   one positive control that would generate a very high one (a sample 
   from a delousing room stained with prussian blue).  Had he taken 
   more control samples from unrelated parts of the camp, he would 
   have some idea of what the normal cyanide levels were and compare
   that to his findings.  As he did not, he could not possibly 
   interpret his results in an intelligent fashion.
   
      Yet another worry is the lack of detail Leuchter gave about his 
   sampling technique.  Without such information, one cannot review 
   how Leuchter took samples and whether he was biased in choosing 
   which areas of a given building to take samples from.  One must 
   wonder why Leuchter was so careless if he was truly a qualified 
   engineer.

      Leuchter's conclusions are even more suspect.  First, he asserts 
   that cyanide found in the gas chamber's remains are so close to the 
   instrument's detection limit (1 ppm) that they are effectively zero. 
   He does not provide his reasons for this conclusion.  He also ignores 
   the baseline zero reading an unrelated sample of gasket material gave 
   him.  If his results from the homicidal gas chambers are too low to 
   measure, one must wonder why his negative control did not provide a 
   similar result.  His biggest error, however, is his assumption that 
   more Zyklon must be used to kill people than delouse clothing {8}:  
        
      "One would have expected higher cyanide detection in the 
       samples taken from the alleged [sic] gas chambers (because 
       of the greater amount of gassed allegedly used there)  
       than found in the [positive] control sample.  Since the 
       contrary is true, one must conclude that these facilities 
       were not execution gas chambers, when coupled with all the 
       other evidence gained on inspection."
  
      His conclusion was based on an assumption that far larger 
   amounts of Zyklon B were used in the gas chambers -- an assumption 
   he did not verify with facts.  He ignored available information 
   about prussian blue formation, its solubility, and even the actual 
   operation of gas chambers at Auschwitz.  His erroneous assumptions 
   and faulty reasoning rendered his report and his data useless.  
        
      Despite all of Leuchter's bungling, one is left with the nagging 
   problem of why are only minute traces of cyanide found in the rubble 
   of Birkenau's Kremas while much larger amounts are found in the 
   delousing chambers.  Despite what may seem to be commonsense logic, 
   these minute traces are to be expected in these chambers, and are 
   consistent with the historical record.
 
      We want to emphasize that cyanide traces were found in the remains 
   of Birkenau's extermination facilities, proving that cyanide was used 
   there.  Therefore, any speculations about whether or not Zyklon-B 
   could be used for mass murder are purely academic.  The traces were 
   there, so cyanide was most certainly used in these rooms.  

   III.  Prussian Blue:  What is it?

      Prussian blue is a sparingly soluble salt made of three
   molecules of iron (II) hexacyanate ion bound to four molecules of 
   iron (III) {9}.  The complex can be formed under  acidic 
   conditions with a solution of FeSO4 and cyanide ion:

        Fe+2   +    6CN-1  ---->   [Fe(CN)6]-4

        4Fe+3  +   3[Fe(CN)6]-4  ---->  Fe4[Fe(CN)6]3                          
                                 prussian blue

      Note that numbers with a + or - sign denote charge, while those 
   without signs are stoichiometric coefficients.   The sulfate ion 
   cancels out, as it is not involved in the reaction.  The cyanide 
   ion could be provided by a completely soluble salt like potassium 
   cyanide (KCN) or in equilibrium with the acid form (HCN).  Note 
   that the counter ions for cyanide (K+ or H+) will drop out of the 
   equation as well. 
        
      Prussian blue is not very soluble, with a calculated solubility 
   constant of Ka = 10^-84.5 {10}.  Its solubility is highly pH 
   dependent, and it is least soluble at a moderately acidic pH of 
   about 2 - 6 units. It becomes increasingly soluble above a pH of 
   4.0 {11}.

   
   IV.  Kinetics of Iron (II) Hexacyanate Formation.

      Iron (II) hexacyanate is a precursor for prussian blue 
   formation, and the complex will not form without it.  It forms in
   a stepwise fashion, meaning that cyanide ions become complexed to 
   the iron one at a time:

      Iron (II) Hexacyanate Formation

         Fe+2  + CN-1 --->  FeCN+1
        
         FeCN+1  + CN-1 ---->  Fe(CN)2

         Fe(CN)2  + CN-1  --->    [Fe(CN)3]-1
                
         [Fe(CN)3]-1  +  CN-1  ----->   [Fe(CN)4]-2

         [Fe(CN)4]-2 +  CN-1  ----->   [Fe(CN)5]-3 

         [Fe(CN)5]-3  +   CN-1  ----->  [Fe(CN)6]-4

      Note that the final product of this reaction is not prussian 
   blue, it is merely the water soluble iron-cyanide complex that 
   combines with more iron to form prussian blue. This product is 
   absolutely required to make prussian blue.

      This last step is very slow and determines the overall reaction 
   rate {12}.  It is so slow that the reaction to produce iron (II) 
   hexacyanate can take upwards of 30 hours to complete when 
   FeSO4*7H20 and KCN are mixed together {13}.  Since the production 
   of prussian blue depends on iron (II) hexacyanate,  prussian blue 
   formation will be equally slow. This means that a very short time 
   of exposure to cyanide will not produce very much prussian blue at 
   all. 

      Relating this to the gas chambers at Auschwitz, the small 
   amounts of prussian blue in extermination facilities can be easily 
   explained.  According to the testimonies of Hans Stark {14}, 
   Auschwitz Commandant Rudolph Ho"ss {15}, and former inmate 
   Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier {16},  it would take around one 
   half hour to complete the gassing process and begin ventilation of 
   the chamber.   

      Based on this testimony, it would seem reasonable that very 
   little prussian blue would accrete on the walls of homicidal gas 
   chambers, given the very slow rate of formation and the very short 
   gassing times at Auschwitz.  Thirty minutes is not enough to time 
   to produce much [Fe(CN)6]-4, as this reaction takes many hours.  

      Delousing chambers are a different matter.  It takes a very long 
   time and a very high concentration to kill insects such as lice with 
   cyanide.  Insects often need cyanide concentrations as high as 4600 
   ppm to kill, while humans need barely 300 ppm {17}.  Also, the usage 
   manual from Zyklon's manufacturer, Degesch discusses fumigation 
   times of 16 hours or more, and a minimum of six hours if it is very 
   warm {18}.   Given the higher concentrations of cyanide plus much 
   longer (32 times!) gassing times compared to homicidal gassings, 
   significant amounts of [Fe(CN)6]-4 would have time to form, thus 
   leading to the production of large deposits prussian blue in the 
   delousing chambers.   

      Not only was delousing a much longer process, it was done much 
   more often.  Jean-Claude Pressac's _Technique and Operation of the 
   Auschwitz Gas Chambers_ compared homicidal gassings with delousing 
   process {19}:  
 
         "A hydrocyanic gas concentration of 0.3 g/m3 (lethal 
      dose) is immediately fatal for man, while in order to 
      destroy lice a concentration of 5 g/m3 applied for at least 
      two hours is necessary.  If this concentration is maintained 
      for 6 hours, all insects are destroyed [source: Degesch].  
      In Birkenau, the quantity poured into the homicidal gas 
      chambers was forty times the lethal dose (12 g/m3) which 
      killed without fail one thousand people in less than five 
      minutes. [..] The contact time for the hydrocyanic acid with 
      the walls of the homicidal gas chambers never exceeded about 
      ten minutes per day at a temperature below 30 degrees Celsius.  

         In the clothing delousing gas chambers a minimum 
      concentration of 5 g/m3 was used during several cycles per 
      day, the duration of the cycle varying according to the 
      contact time chosen.  This hydrocyanic saturation for 12 to 
      18 hours a day was reinforced by the heat given off by 
      stoves (situated in the chamber) providing a temperature of
      30 degrees Celsius.  The walls were impregnated with warm 
      hydrocyanic acid for at least 12 hours a day, which was to 
      bring about in situ the formation of a dye, "Prussian blue" 
      or potassium iron (III) hexacyanoferrate (II), whose 
      composition varied according to the conditions of 
      formation."

      While the execution gas chambers used a higher concentration of 
   Zyklon B, the longer exposure time and heating led to the formation 
   of prussian blue.  Pressac goes on to say that the blue color was 
   not visible immediately after the war, but now allows a very easy 
   and foolproof way to distinguish between delousing chambers that 
   have the blue stains, and homicidal ones which do not.

      Besides the common individual's lack of knowledge of the 
   difference in time and concentration of cyanide between delousing 
   and homicide, another point the deniers count on to create 
   confusion is the nature of "mass gassing."  It conjures up the 
   notion of an assembly line, people tossed into the chambers every 
   hour on the hour.  However, this was not really the case.

      Of the over one million people that are believed to have died 
   in Auschwitz-Birkenau, not all of these were gassed.  Starvation, 
   overwork, and disease from the inhumane conditions may well have 
   killed more than gas, although the deliberate imposition of these 
   conditions makes it murder no less than death by bullet or cyanide 
   - both of which also took place.

      Alter Fajnzylberg was a member of the Sonderkommando who was at 
   Auschwitz-Birkenau and managed to survive from the initial gassings 
   in Krema I through to the liberation.  He testified that gassings 
   were normally carried out "several times a week," though at one 
   point in 1944, during the arrival of large numbers of Jews from 
   Hungary, Fajnzylberg noted that "gassings took place daily, and 
   even several times a day."{20}  Even at that rate, however, the 
   total time of exposure, and thus the amount of prussian blue that 
   one would expect to form, is far less than the deniers are trying 
   to lead people to believe.

      We realize that the chemistry may be difficult to follow for the 
   average reader.  Those who deny the Holocaust count on this in their 
   claim that mass murder should produce more prussian blue than 
   delousing.  However, perhaps a physical analogy common to many 
   people's experience may serve to bring the point home.  Imagine two 
   white cotton handkerchiefs.  One has a medium-hot iron placed on it 
   for four seconds, then taken away for ten seconds.  This process is 
   repeated two hundred times.  The other has a very hot iron placed on 
   it continuously for two minutes.  The first handkerchief, touched by 
   the iron for a total 800 seconds, shows little if any scorching.  
   The second, exposed for 120 seconds, shows clear scorching. The 
   first handkerchief corresponds to the homicidal gas chambers - brief 
   exposure to low concentration of cyanide followed by time for the 
   effect to dissipate - while the second is an analog of the delousing 
   chambers, long continuous exposure to high concentration.


   V.  Solubility of Prussian Blue

      As mentioned earlier, prussian blue is a largely insoluble salt 
   -- it does not dissolve readily.   However, its solubility is 
   highly dependent on the pH of a solution that dissolves it.  The 
   salt is least soluble under acidic conditions, and will precipitate 
   below a pH of about 6.  Above a pH of 6, it is more soluble and 
   dissolves almost completely {21}.  Even above a pH of 4.0, prussian 
   blue dissolves enough to poison the surrounding soil and ground 
   water with soluble iron cyanide.  This means that prussian blue will 
   weather away, contrary to the claims of Holocaust deniers.  

      Would rain be of the correct pH to dissolve prussian blue? Based 
   upon a study of acid rain {22} in Northern Europe, the pH of 
   rainfall steadily drops from about 5.8 to 5.0 over a twenty year 
   period (1955 - 1975).   An average pH level for the past fifty years 
   could then be very roughly estimated at 5.4 units.  Given that 
   prussian blue begins to dissolve at a pH of 4.0, and that any 
   prussian blue on Krema II, III, IV, V has been exposed to this rain 
   for almost fifty years, it is surprising that any such traces remain 
   at all.          

      In their report on cyanide traces in the Auschwitz-Birkenau 
   complex, The Polish Institute for Forensic Research at Krakow 
   erroneously claims that prussian blue will dissolve in weak acid 
   {23}.  While it will most certainly dissolve in strong acid (pH<0), 
   it is clearly less soluble at a moderately acidic pH from 2 - 4  
   {24}.  Prussian blue is quite soluble in alkali, but even at the 
   relatively acidic pH of 4 (pH <7 is acidic), prussian blue will 
   dissolve enough to contaminate groundwater to hazardous levels {25}. 
   Perhaps this pH region of 4 - 7 is what they mean, as many weak 
   acids have pKa's in this region.  Regardless of the Institute's  
   error, they are correct in surmising that very little, if any 
   traces of cyanide would be found in the homicidal gas chambers at 
   Auschwitz.  

      Besides the chemical mechanism of dissolution, prussian blue 
   exposed to the elements is subject to the physical mechanism of 
   erosion.  Any compound which formed on the surface, would be liable 
   to break away in minute particles over time due to the physical 
   impact of rain and wind-blown dust.  However, some of the compound 
   infiltrates into the porous brick, and becomes protected by its 
   hardness from this effect.  Thus we see long-lasting stains even on 
   some outside surfaces of the delousing chambers - though these 
   surfaces too will have less prussian blue relative to what they did 
   fifty years ago.  Still, it is important to keep in mind the main 
   point, namely that the overwhelming reason for the small amount of 
   prussian blue in the homicidal chambers is that there was too small 
   a concentration of cyanide allowed to react for too short a time 
   before the room was ventilated.  Thus no significant quantity of 
   prussian blue could form in the first place.


   VI. Summary and Conclusion

      Prussian blue is a sparingly soluble salt with the chemical 
   formula Fe4[Fe(CN6)]3.   It forms rather slowly, and is quite 
   insoluble at acidic pH.   It will dissolve readily at pH of 6.0 or 
   above.  Other components formed during prussian blue formation 
   would be soluble and be washed away almost if not completely in a 
   short time.   

      Given the very short time of cyanide exposure in the homicidal 
   gas chambers and that prussian blue forms very slowly, it is 
   unlikely that prussian blue could form there in significant 
   amounts.  In delousing chambers, with their high concentration of 
   cyanide and long exposure times of many hours, significant amounts 
   of prussian blue would form.

      As prussian blue is soluble enough to contaminate groundwater 
   with cyanide at a pH above 4.0, and that it is soluble above pH 6.0, 
   one should expect to find even fewer cyanide traces in the rubble of 
   Krema II, III, IV, and V after fifty years of exposure to the elements.  
   Rainfall can be expected to dissolve prussian blue, albeit slowly.  
   Taking all of these factors into account, it is very unlikely that 
   significant cyanide traces would be found in the rubble of Kremas 
   II - V.  

      Surprisingly, cyanide traces were actually found in the homicidal 
   gas chambers, which proves that HCN was used there.  Since the Nazis 
   destroyed these facilities while leaving less incriminating structures 
   intact, it becomes clear that their purpose was not benign.  The only 
   apparent discrepancy is that much more cyanide is found in rooms used 
   to delouse clothing.   However, with a basic understanding of cyanide 
   chemistry and toxicology one can readily explain the scarcity of 
   prussian blue in the extermination gas chambers despite its prevalence 
   in the delousing facilities.


   Appendix

   i. Copyright Notice

      (c) Brian Harmon and Mike Stein, 1994.  This document may be 
   distributed freely as long as credit is given to the authors.  This 
   text may not be modified in any way. Sources quoted in this text are 
   copyrighted by the original publishers or authors. 


   ii. Acknowledgements
        
      We would like to thank Ken McVay, whose archives and personal 
   assistance have been of great help to us.   Ken McVay maintains a 
   large archive of material on the Holocaust and various aspects of 
   Holocaust denial.  These files can be accessed by anonymous ftp at 
   http://nizkor.org/ftp.cgi, and via the World Wide Web at 
   http://nizkor.org. [URLs updated 12/25/2005 knm]


   iv.  Quote From Polish Institute For Forensic Research

      Here is the section from the Polish Institute that makes 
   reference to prussian blue dissolving in acid:

   ----------------------------------------------------------
        INSTITUTE OF FORENSIC RESEARCH
        In the name of Prof. Dr. Jan Sehn, Krakow
        Division of Forensic Toxicology

                                Krakow, 24 Sept. 1990
                                Westerplatte 9 / Code 31-033
                                Tel. 505-44, 592-24, 287-50
                                Telex 0325213 eksad ...

      The hydrocyanic acid (HCN) that is released from the 
   Zyklon B preparation is a liquid with a boiling point of 
   about 27 degrees Celsius.  It has an acidic character, and 
   therefore forms compounds with metallic salts, which are 
   known as cyanides.  The salts of alkaline metals (such as 
   sodium and potassium) are water soluble.

      Hydrocyanic acid is a very weak acid, and accordingly 
   its salts dissolve easily in stronger acids.  Even carbonic 
   acid, which is formed as a reaction of carbon dioxide with 
   water, will dissolve ferro-cyanide.

      Stronger acids, such as sulfuric acids, easily dissolve 
   the cyanides.  The compounds of cyanide ions with heavy 
   metals are longer lasting.  This includes the already 
   mentioned Prussian blue, although this will also slowly 
          ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^
   dissolve in an acidic environment.
   ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^
      
      Therefore, one can hardly assume that traces of cyanic 
   compounds could still be detected in construction materials 
   (plaster, brick) after 45 years, after being subjected to the 
   weather and the elements (rain, acid oxides, especially 
   sulfuric and nitrogen oxides).  More reliable would be the 
   analysis of wall plaster [samples] from closed rooms which 
   were not subject to weather and the elements (including acid 
   rain).

      The discovery of hydrocyanic acid compounds in samples of 
   material which had been subject to the elements can only be 
   accidental.
   ----------------------------------------------------------

      While prussian blue will dissolve in a somewhat acidic 
   environment, increasing acid makes it less soluble, contrary 
   to what the Polish report implies.


   v. Endnotes 
        
   1)  Leuchter, Fred.  _The Leuchter Report:  The End of a Myth_.  
       Samisdat Publishers, (c) 1998.   p 17.

   2) The Institute of Forensic Research Report is cited in The 
      Summer 1991 issue of the _Journal For Historical Review_ 
      (Institute for Historical Review:  Torrance, CA)  

   3) Leuchter, p 1.

   4) Brugioni, Dino and Poirier, Robert.  _The Holocaust Revisited:  
      A Retrospective Analysis of the Auschwitz-Birkenau 
      Extermination Complex_.  (Washington D.C.:  Central 
      Intelligence Agency).  (c) Feb. 1979,  pp 13-14

   5) ibid, p 5.

   6) Institute of Forensic Research Report, JHR, summer '91

   7) Leuchter, p 17.

   8) Leuchter, p 11.

   9) Sharpe, A. G.  _The Chemistry of Cyano Complexes of the 
      Transition Metals_. (Academic Press:  New York, London, San 
      Francisco)  (c) 1976,  p 122.

   10) Meeussen, Johannes C. L., Meindert Keizer G., van Riemsdijk, 
       Willem H., and de Haan, Frans A. M.  "Dissolution Behavior of 
       Iron Cyanide (Prussian Blue) in Contaminated Soils"  
       _Environmental Science and Technology_, vol 26, no 9, 1992.  
       p 1834 (figure). 

   11) Meeussen, p 1832.

   12) Sharpe, 104.

   13) ibid, p 104.

   14) _"The Good Old Days": The Holocaust as Seen by Its 
       Perpetrators and Bystanders_. ed by Ernst Klee, Willi Dressen, 
       and Volker Reiss.  English translation of "Die Scho"ne Zeit".  
       (New York: The Free Press, div. of MacMillan, Inc.)  (c) 1991., 
       p 255.

   15) _"The Good Old Days"_, p 272.

   16) _Documents on the Holocaust: Selected Sources on the 
       Destruction of the Jews of Germany and Austria, Poland, and the 
       Soviet Union_.  ed. by Yitzhak Arad, Yisrael Gutman, and 
       Abraham Margaliot.  (Jerusalem: Yad Veshem) (c) 1981, p358.

   17) Hansen, James D., Hara, Arnold H., Chan, Harvey T., and Tenbrik, 
       Victoria L.  "Efficacy of Hydrogen Cyanide Fumigation as a 
       Treatment for Pests of Hawaiian Cut Flowers and Foliage After 
       Harvest"  _Journal of Economic Entomology_, vol 84, no 2, p 534.

   18) Nuremburg Document NI-9912, the Degesch Manual on how to use 
       Zyklon properly.  Both German and English versions were obtained 
       from:
       Mendelsohn, John and Detwiler, Donald S.  _The Holocaust:  
       Selected Documents in Eighteen Volumes._   "Volume 12: The 'Final 
       Solution' in the Extermination Camps and the Aftermath"  (New 
       York:  Garland Publishing) c. 1982,  p 137.

   19) Pressac, Jean-Claude.  _Auschwitz: Techniques and Operation of 
       the Gas Chambers_ (English edition) (New York: Beate Klarsfeld 
       Foundation) c. 1989, p 53.  
   [The translation quoted in this document is by Michael Stein, made 
    directly from the photographic facsimile of the original French 
    statement.  It is slightly more literal than the translation 
    appearing in the English edition of Pressac.]

   20) ibid., p 124-125.

   21) Meeussen, p 1832, 1835.

   22) Ode'n, Svante.  "The Acidity Problem -- An Outline of Concepts".  
       _Water, Air and Soil Pollution_  vol 6, 1976.  p 142.

   23) Institute of Forensic Research Report, _JHR_, summer '91

   24) Meeussen, p 1835.

   25) ibid, p 1832.

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