> The old Fisher Body Plant had cyanide (yes, cyanide) baths for metal plating.

This is not some outdated thing like asbestos; bonding cyanides of metals together is pretty much just how you do electroplating. It's also not all that scary; there are a bunch of well-known industrial methods of neutralizing the cyanide afterward[1].

[1] http://www.sgs.ca/~/media/Global/Documents/Flyers%20and%20Le...