The reports of nitrile formation in actual and simulated auto emissions suggests a potential environmental hazard associated with the wide scale use of catalytic exhaust converters. Specifically, the atmospheric oxidation of nitriles is believed to occur via radical intermediates which can lead to both NO/sub x/ and CO production. This report focuses specifically on 0(/sup 3/P) atom reactions but emphasizes the need for additional kinetic and mechanistic data for other atmospheric oxidants (e.g. O/sub 3/, OH) in reactions with nitriles.