- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ricin,
thought to have been detected in a U.S. Senate mail room this week, is
one of the deadliest poisons known, easy to make and easy to conceal.
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- Made from the same castor bean used to make castor oil,
ricin is considered a likely biowarfare or bioterrorist agent and is on
the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's "B" list of agents
-- considered a moderate threat.
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- It is perhaps best known as the poison used to assassinate
Bulgarian exile Georgi Markov in London in 1978. Markov was injected in
the leg with a ricin pellet by an agent with a specially designed umbrella.
He died four days later. The case involved the Bulgarian secret service
and the KGB.
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- Ricin was also discovered in apartments in London in
January 2003 that had been occupied by Islamic extremists.
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- Some reports have indicated ricin may have been used
in the Iran-Iraq war during the 1980s and ricin was found in Al Qaeda caves
in Afghanistan.
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- Because castor beans are processed throughout the world
to make castor oil, ricin could be available to many different groups.
But experts say it is not a likely weapon of mass destruction and more
likely to be used on a small or even an individual scale.
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- The toxin can be put into food, water or even made into
an aerosol and sprayed. It is broken down quickly in the body and is almost
impossible to trace.
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- A very small dose is lethal to humans and the symptoms
are frighteningly misleading. Victims feel like they have the flu for a
few days and then die suddenly.
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- The CDC says that if injected, as little as 500 micrograms
of ricin -- which would fit on the head of a pin -- could kill an adult.
Much more would be needed to kill if the ricin were inhaled or swallowed.
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- MULTIPLE MEANS OF CONTAMINATION
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- Ricin can be delivered in the form of a powder, a mist,
or a pellet, or it can be dissolved in water or weak acid. Water supplies
or food can also be contaminated with ricin.
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- The toxin cannot be spread from person to person.
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- Symptoms of ricin poisoning begin within 8 hours of exposure
and vary depending on whether it was injected, breathed in or eaten, according
to the CDC.
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- When inhaled symptoms include difficulty breathing, fever,
cough, nausea, sweating and tightness in the chest. Death occurs after
blood pressure plummets and breathing stops.
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- When swallowed, ricin caused vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration,
low blood pressure and perhaps hallucinations, seizures and blood in the
urine. "Within several days, the person's liver, spleen, and kidneys
might stop working and the person could die," the CDC says.
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- Ricin in the powder or mist form can irritate the skin
and eyes. In all cases, death can follow within 72 hours.
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- "If death has not occurred in 3 to 5 days, the victim
usually recovers," the CDC advises. There is no antidote although
several groups are working on one.
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- Ricin poisoning is treated with measures including respirators
if needed, fluids, flushing the stomach and treating low blood pressure.
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- If you suspect you are exposed to ricin, the CDC advises
getting into fresh air as soon as possible.
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- Copyright 2004, Reuters News Service
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