SENATE POWDER TESTS POSITIVE FOR RICIN (Update -- 16 PEOPLE DECONTAMINATED)

AP Wire ^ | Feb. 3, 2004 | AP Wire

[WestCoastGal]

Depending on the route of exposure (such as injection), as little as 500 micrograms of ricin could be enough to kill an adult. A 500-microgram dose of ricin would be about the size of the head of a pin. A much greater amount would be needed to kill people if the ricin were inhaled (breathed in) or swallowed.

In 1978, Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian writer and journalist who was living in London, died after he was attacked by a man with an umbrella. The umbrella had been rigged to inject a poison ricin pellet under Markov’s skin.

[katz]

I haven't heard about that tonight. Wasn't the Republican Senator from Alaska wanting to increase gas taxes? There was a freshman (woman R) senator fighting against the increase several months ago.

[My Favorite Headache]

CNN was live at 11 to 11:30 covering it Fox News and MSNBC already had the lights turned off til dawn.

[California74]

ACK! Well, I am saying prayers for all who may have been exposed. I hope and pray that no one gets sick or dies.

[stlnative]

How soon do symptoms appear?
The time from exposure to ricin to onset of symptoms can be from less than 1 hour to 12 hours or greater. Symptoms from poisoning through eating can occur within 2-3 hours. Inhalation poisoning occurs within 3 hours.

What is the treatment for Ricin poisoning?
Ricin poisoning is treated through supportive medical care to minimize the effects of the poisoning.

Where is ricin found and how is it used?
Castor beans are processed throughout the world to make castor oil. Ricin has potential medical uses such as bone marrow transplants and cancer treatment.

WHAT IS RICIN?
Ricin is a poison made from waste left over from processing castor beans. It can be in the form of a powder, a mist, a pellet, or it can be dissolved in water or weak acid. It is a stable substance that’s not affected by extreme conditions such as very hot or very cold temperatures.

SYMPTOMS
Symptoms are determined by the route of exposure and amount received.

Routes of exposure/symptoms:

INHALATION: Difficulty breathing, fever, cough, nausea, and tightness in the chest, heavy sweating, skin turning blue, low blood pressure, respiratory failure

INGESTION: Vomiting, bloody diarrhea, severe dehydration, low blood pressure, hallucinations, seizures, and blood in the urine SKIN and EYE: redness and pain of the skin and eyes Showing these signs and symptoms does not necessarily mean that a person has been exposed to ricin.

HOW IS RICIN SPREAD?
It would take a deliberate act to make ricin and use it to poison people. People can breathe in ricin mist or powder. Ricin can get into the water or food and then be swallowed Pellets of ricin or ricin dissolved in a liquid can be injected into people’s body. Ricin poisoning is not contagious. It cannot be spread from person to person.

[My Favorite Headache]

The DU freaks are already claiming that this is a ploy to bump Bush's numbers and trace it back to Iraq. Unreal.

[Yaelle]

Well, I listen to talk radio all day and I had heard nothing about it... until 15 minutes after I posted, and then it was top on the half hour KABC news. They did not mention terrorism, only that the powder tested + for ricin.

Did it come in via the mail?

[stlnative]

Ricin is 500 times stronger than cobra venom and 1,500 times more deadly than cyanide. The equivalent of a grain of salt would be enough to kill an adult, and a fatal dose takes around three days to kill the person affected.
The health service is on alert after traces of the poison were discovered in a flat in London and six men were arrested as terrorist suspects at the weekend.

Ricin-related symptoms include fever and nausea, which progresses to severe abdominal pains and fits. Victims die from multiple organ failure and there is no known antidote or vaccine.

The bioxtoxin works by shutting down protein synthesis in the body and takes four to eight hours to incubate after being eaten or inhaled, so a victim would not necessarily realise they were in potential peril at the moment of contact.

The poison inhibits protein synthesis and has widespread toxic effects on the body, which include damage to most organ systems and a combination of pulmonary, liver, renal and immunological failure which may lead to death.

The exact early symptoms depend on the route of exposure. In all cases, fever, gastrointestinal upset, and coughing will be amongst the first effects noted - but of course these are symptoms of any number of benign ailments.

Absorption via inhalation as a result of exposure to the toxin in aerosol form leads to particularly serious lung damage including adult respiratory distress syndrome. Flesh eating lesions develop in the airways and cause respiratory and heart failure.

Swallowing ricin causes gastroenteritis, bloody diarrhoea and vomiting. People poisoned by a large dose could die of shock after massive fluid loss through severe diarrhoea. Effects on the central nervous system have been reported to include seizures.

The symptoms are similar to the first world war gas phosgene, or more modern nerve gases such as sarin, developed in the second world war, and used by the Aum cult on the Tokyo subway system in 1995 in an attack that left 12 people dead.

[sissyjane]

>>...hey... I just heard the highway Bill going through Congress would INCREASE the GAS TAX!!! 8 cents a gallon!!
I thought Congress was run by cons...oh.. just Republicans..>>

Wrong thread...Check the headline before youe post....

[stlnative]

CDC - Facts About Ricin

[Indie]

Again. I call for the immediate outlaw of the castor bean plant with possession penalties commensurate with that of pot. [cough] [Hypocrisy is grand ain't it?]

[4everontheRight]

If I am not mistaken, it was found back in October. It was in a vial accompanied by a letter signed by a "Dark Angel". The letter threatened use of the chemical if the bill involving truckers went through. The bill lowered the number of hours that a trucker could stay on the road.
That bill took effect in January of this year.

We were amazed that a bigger story wasn't made of this! It was over a week after it was found, before it was even announed here! The FBI is involved with this case and I believe a reward of $10k was offered.

[swilhelm73]

How can you be so certain that Islamists are responsible? I could understand a suspicion, but certainly the stuff could also be processed here in the USA, by someone not associated with Islam.

1) History - After the last bio-chem attack we were told it couldn't be Islamists. The government spent a year and a half looking for everyone other then Islamists. They've still yet to find the culprit. However, the original anthrax mailings stopped at the same time we arrested/expelled everyone we could find with ties to Islamist terror. Looks like its taken them this long to set up for a major operation again.

2) The Target - Since a couple of liberal senators were amoung those targeted last time, the press claimed it must be the work of right wingers. Well, the Reps control the Senate, so who exactly is being targeted here?

3) Minor terror attacks continue, all Islamists - see the DC snipers and the LAX shooting.

4)Other warnings - We've just finished being off alert for an Islamist bio-chem attack on air planes when a bio-chem attack goes down in DC.

[stlnative]

Of eight tests conducted throughout the day, six were positive for the toxin, with a ninth and final test due by 5 a.m. Tuesday morning.

"From a scientific standpoint, this is ricin," Frist said. "It is in all likelihood sent with intent to harm."

Traces of ricin found in Senate mailroom - Frist: Substance likely 'sent with intent to harm'

[swilhelm73]

oh yes and also;

Islamists have ricin - They aren't the only ones of course, but I rather doubt this is the work of the Russians or PRC.

[anymouse]

According to FBI sources, Dr. Steven Hatfill is still not a suspect in this recent ricin terrorist mailing. /sarcasm

At least we know where the rest of the ricin that the Brits found traces at a London mosque ended up. Let's see if the FBI does some tests to see if the concentrations and contamination signatures of the two ricin samples match.

I guess one could do some air sampling around some DC mosques to see if they smell of castor beans.

[bluefish]

What is the treatment for Ricin poisoning?
- Ricin poisoning is treated through supportive medical care to minimize the effects of the poisoning.

That's kind of like saying "Ricin poisoning is treated through treatement of Ricin poisoning."

[texasbluebell]

2) The Target - Since a couple of liberal senators were amoung those targeted last time, the press claimed it must be the work of right wingers. Well, the Reps control the Senate, so who exactly is being targeted here?

Good point. Drumming fingers on desk, and waiting impatiently for cnn et al. to blame this one on the "left-wing" extremists. Hahahaha. Did anyone mention a cold day in July?

[CyberAnt]

ROTFLOL! Geeeee .. they are really paranoid. I don't see any connection this will have in helping Bush .. do you ..??

[Future Useless Eater]

>>David Kay said that RICIN was being made in IRAQ right up to the invasion... isn't that a WMD???

I wonder if the exact composition of this RICIN, and any impurities in it could form a SIGNATURE that could be traced back to the RICIN traces found in Iraq?

But you know what's more likely... Just like those 200 WMD shells found in Iraq, some Clinton appointee still working for Bush will declare tomorrow or Wednesday, it was a FALSE ALARM! And then ALL the mainstream media will run with that!!!