Posted on 02/29/2008 1:36:50 AM PST by Las Vegas Dave
(CNN) -- Police in Las Vegas, Nevada, are investigating the discovery of what they believe to be ricin at an extended stay hotel Thursday.
Authorities were called to an Extended Stay America hotel after staff found a suspicious substance in one of the rooms.
"They determined it might be some biological agent, and through presumptive tests, we determined it to be ricin," said Capt. Joe Lombardo of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. "We don't know who it belongs to or why it would be here at this time."
Three hotel employees and a fourth person who came to the room to retrieve some items were taken to the hospital as a precaution, Officer Ramon Dendy told CNN. Three police officers who went into the room are also being watched at the hospital. None of the seven have shown symptoms of ricin poisoning, which can include anything from difficulty breathing, fever, cough, nausea and sweating to severe vomiting and dehydration.
"We did have enough ricin to be of concern," Lombardo said. "At this point, it has been contained and processed where it's not a threat to anybody."
Lombardo said the "area of concern" is under quarantine and is going through a decontamination process. All seven people have been decontaminated.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Let me be the first —
“Terrorism not suspected”
Or, in the words of the gaggle of “Nothing to see here” FReepers —
“There’s no reason to jump to conclusions — naturally occurring Ricin is so common that it’s the only explanation”..
(Did I get it all??)
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas...
Islamic terrorists are known to frequent nightclubs just prior to launching suicide attacks.
Three of the 9/11 asshats spent their last night on earth at Nardone’s, a go-go bar in Elizabeth, NJ. If you have ever been to Nardone’s, you would realize how pathetic that statement is.
But, seriesly, is this material confirmed to be Ricin, or did it just come up as Ricin in a field screening test? I would not be jumping to conclusions here.
But, the poster is right. If it was indeed Ricin, there are surely many possible non-Islamic-terrorism explanations for why it is there.
You forgot to blame illegal aliens, Bush, McCain and mention that Obamas middle name is Husein.
Not necessarily. I got back home last weekend from a week in Las Vegas. Somehow I caught the flu there, was sicker than I've been in five years and it followed me home. I'm staying away from that city for a while.
” You forgot to blame illegal aliens, Bush, McCain and mention that Obamas middle name is Husein. “
I stand humbled....
In my own defense, I’m still suffering a low blood-caffiene level yet....
Ahem! Ricin is a poison derived from castor beans...
You may have been first, but the report on Fox and Friends, said just that.
Yeah right. They were just making castor oil concentrate.
BTTT
Besides terrorism and cancer research, what other kind of use does ricin have. I can’t imagine that this is a weapon gang members carry around. Do they really think we are that naive?
They sure aren’t making much noise about it.
Three hotel employees and a fourth person who came to the room to retrieve some items were taken to the hospital...
Oops! Forgot the ricin?
Who was this person? What was his/her name? Is that person in custody?
NautiNurse, did you see this?
Ricin is a stable substance, affected very little by extreme conditions, such as very hot or very cold temperatures.
Ricin can be in the form of a powder, a mist, a pellet, or it can be dissolved in water or weak acid. It is water-soluble, odorless, tasteless, and stable under ambient conditions.
Depending on the route of exposure (such as injection or inhalation), as little as 500 µ of ricin could be enough to kill an adult. A greater amount would be needed to cause death if ricin were ingested.
The extent of manifestations of ricin poisoning in humans depends on the amount of ricin to which a person was exposed, route of exposure, and extent of organ involvement.
Significant exposure to ricin would result in a relatively rapid, progressive worsening of symptoms over approximately 4 to 36 hours.
Death may occur within 36 hours of exposure. If death has not occurred by 5 days from exposure, the victim usually recovers.
It would take a deliberate act to manufacture ricin to poison people. There have been several instances of ricin procurement for use as a terrorist or criminal weapon.
As a chemical weapon, ricin may be dispersed as a mist or powder, used to poison water or to contaminate food, or injected as a liquid into a person's body. No antidote exists for ricin.
The most important factor is to avoid exposure. If exposure cannot be avoided, then the most important factors are to get ricin off or out of the body as quickly as possible, and to provide supportive medical care. Ricin poisoning represents a potential public health emergency and should be reported to public health agencies and the regional poison control center.
Ahem.....not terrorist relayed. The ricin just *fell off* the castor beans.
Glad to see ya again backhoe!!!
Iocane powder!! I'd bet my life on it.
The problem is, there was immediately a cop on scene who made the comment “ricin is used in cancer research”... which is a true statement, however, in my quick research of the subject, ricin used in such practices is chemically altered and not “in a powder form found along with castor beans” as Fox just indicated a few minutes ago.
So, the cop was full of crap.
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