Ricin danger mostly theoretical

23536

23536

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A Mississippi man was arrested today under suspicion of sending letters to President Obama and Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss) that gave a positive preliminary test for ricin. Further, more conclusive tests are under way.

In the wake of the bombings at the Boston Marathon, it is understandable that this revelation would be unsettling, inevitably bringing to mind the deadly anthrax letters that were sent shortly after 9/11. Yet, in my opinion, the concern is overblown. False positive tests for ricin are common — after all, castor beans are common and often present in and around homes. In addition, although ricin is theoretically a powerful toxin, it is extremely difficult to turn it into an effective bioweapon. For reasons I explained almost a decade ago in a column in Emergency Medicine News, ricin has never been proven to have killed anyone, and has never been successfully deployed as a biological weapon. (The Washington Post made a similar point in an article posted today.)

http://www.thepoisonreview.com/2013/04/17/ricin-danger-mostly-theoretical/
 
Better idea than using anthrax and having to send grams of powder through the mail.

I thought it was used in the cold war though? I'll have to find sources and figure it out for myself...
 
the biological weapon part confuses me. if ricin considered a weapon, then it's a chemical one.
 
Black said:
the biological weapon part confuses me. if ricin considered a weapon, then it's a chemical one.
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That seems to make sense. Then again, the author is a toxicologist, so I don't think he takes these nuances lightly. Then again, everyone has a brain fart now and then.
 
I think he refers to it as a bioweapon just so the readers will understand. People think of bioweapons as agents where minute amounts are used as a weapon, and even the slightest contact can be deadly, and exposure is from handling a contaminated object, as opposed to chemical weapons, which are weapons of mass destruction where a large amount of agent is dispersed to kill many people at once, or to serve as an active denial agent. The quantity of ricin needed to poison someone is far, far less than a chemical weapon like Sarin, and so its weapon profile is more similiar to a bioweapon in many respects, although it isn't by definition one
 
It is extracted from a naturally-occurring source rather than synthesized, and ricin itself is a protein rather than a small molecule. I think those are the main distinctions that lead the author to call it a biological weapon instead of a chemical weapon. I don't think the strict definition of a biological weapon requires that the weapon material be an organism (like a virus, bacteria, or fungus).

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/biological-chemical-agents-questions
 
I thought the kgb killed that bulgarian journalist in the 80s with a tiny ricin pellet built in to the tip of an unbrella? They even made mention of it in breaking bad. Supposedly the ricin pellet was the size of a pin head.
 
they dropped the charges against the Elvis impersonator:

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/us-attorney-dismisses-case-against-initial-ricin-suspect

U.S. Attorney Dismisses Case Against Initial Ricin Suspect

The United States Attorney has dismissed "without prejudice" all charges against Paul Kevin Curtis, the man initially identified as a suspect after letters that tested positive for ricin were mailed to President Barack Obama and other officials.

In an order for dismissal filed this afternoon, Assistant United States Attorney William Lamar said the charges against Curtis were dismissed because "the ongoing investigation has revealed new information." By dismissing without prejudice, the government is reserving the right to refile charges later.

After Curtis was released Tuesday, his attorney, Christi McCoy said in an interview with CNN that she believed he had been set up by another person. That same afternoon FBI agents visited the home of Everett Dutschke, a man McCoy suggested may have framed her client earlier this week.
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^inhalation of ricin is far more deadly

Wikipedia said:
The median lethal dose (LD50) of ricin is around 22 micrograms per kilogram (1.78 mg for an average adult, around 1⁄228 of a standard aspirin tablet/0.4 g gross) in humans if exposure is from injection or inhalation. Oral exposure to ricin is far less toxic and a lethal dose can be up to 20–30 milligrams per kilogram.
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