Activated charcoals impregnated with Cu-Cr compounds were analyzed by temperature-programmed desorption before and after exposure to CNCl or HCN. Qualitative and quantitative determinations of the desorbed species were carried out using mass spectrometry. The chemisorbed cyanide gases led, upon vacuum pyrolysis from 50 to 950-degrees-C, to different types of nitrogen compounds, in particular NH3, N2, NO and HCN, indicating that hydrolysis and oxidation reactions are the main routes of conversion on the carbon adsorbent. For unaged impregnated samples, the prevailing pathway is oxidation of the cyanide gases. After aging in a humid environment, the pyrolysis led mainly to NH3, indicating that hydrolysis is the dominant reaction for the elimination of the toxic gas. Quantitative analysis of the pyrolysis products allows us to establish a kind of fingerprint of the physico-chemical properties of the impregnated carbons after exposure to cyanide gases.