Whoa. Ricin found in Senate office building...

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

Mike Irwin

Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2002
Messages
7,956
Location
Below the Manson-Nixon line in Virginia...
From Yahoo/Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A suspicious white powder found in a U.S. Senate office building on Monday tested positive for the deadly poison ricin, U.S. Capitol Police Chief Terry Gainer said.

About 16 people who were on the floor where the toxin was discovered were being decontaminated but no one was hurt.

Ricin is a poison derived from the pulp left over when castor beans are processed to make castor oil. There is no antidote for ricin, which can kill within 36 to 72 hours of exposure to significant amounts, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
 
i'm really getting to dislike my local news...

Police Probe Powder in Senate Building

By SIOBHAN McDONOUGH, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - A white powder, which preliminary tests indicated could be the deadly substance ricin, was discovered Monday in the office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

A government official said further tests were being conducted at Fort Detrick in Maryland, with more definitive results expected by Tuesday.

The powder was found in an envelope in Frist's office suite on the fourth floor of the Dirksen building, one of three structures occupied by senators and their staffs, said a congressional source speaking on condition of anonymity.

Sgt. Contricia Ford, spokeswoman for the Capitol Police, said authorities were conducting more extensive tests. The Homeland Security Department is monitoring the situation, spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said.

Ricin, derived from the castor bean plant, can kill within days. Twice as deadly as cobra venom, ricin is relatively easily made. It may be inhaled, ingested or injected.

Police found traces of ricin in a north London apartment last January and arrested seven men of North African origin in connection with the virulent toxin that has been linked to al-Qaida terrorists and Iraq (news -web sites).

A package containing ricin was also found at a post facility serving Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in South Carolina in October.

An FBI (news - web sites) official said the bureau was awaiting the result of tests at the Fort Detrick laboratory before deciding whether to get more fully involved in the case.

Mail to congressional offices has been irradiated since deadly anthrax was found in letters sent to the offices of Sens. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., in 2001. No one was arrested in those incidents.
 
Might be Domestic terrorism

The press seems to have ignored this story. We had things on it at the PD for a while. The FBI went public on January 8. 2004. Fox News carried the story on one newscast. On story alludes this ricin incident but I guess it's not sexed up enough (to quote the BBC) so we talk about ricin turning up in London a couple years ago.....

Jeff

http://www.fbi.gov/page2/jan04/ricin010804.htm
The United States Postal Inspection Service,
Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. DOT Office of Inspector General
$100,000 REWARD
A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual(s) responsible for introducing a threatening letter addressed to DOT containing the poison ricin discovered at a U.S. Postal facility in Greenville, SC on October 15, 2003.

The author(s) of this letter claimed to be a fleet owner of a tanker company and demanded that the present laws regarding hours of service regulations remain unchanged. On January 4, 2004, significant new federal regulations went into effect mandating more rest and orienting drivers toward a 24-hour work/rest cycle. Inside the envelope was a small, metal vial which contained ricin.

Typewritten on the exterior of the envelope was the following warning:

Graphic: caution RICIN POISON: Enclosed in sealed container: Do not open without proper protection

The following is a representation of the language contained in the threat letter:
to the department of transportation: I'm a fleet owner of a tanker company.

I have easy access to castor pulp. If my demand is dismissed I'm capable of making Ricin.

My demand is simple, January 4 2004 starts the new hours of service for trucks which include a ridiculous ten hours in the sleeper berth. Keep at eight or I will start dumping.
You have been warned this is the only letter that will be sent by me.

Fallen Angel
 
This just in

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...us/capitol_suspicious_powder&cid=519&ncid=716

By SIOBHAN McDONOUGH, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Preliminary tests of a white powder discovered in a Senate office building Monday were positive for the potentially deadly poison ricin, the U.S. Capitol Police chief said.


Two out of three tests indicate ricin, Chief Terrance Gainer said at a late-evening news conference. The third test came out negative, and a fourth, more definitive test was under way, with results expected Tuesday.


Sixteen people who were on the floor where the white powder was discovered on mail were being decontaminated and would be allowed to go home, Gainer said.


"At the moment we're in a wait-and-see position from an analytical point of view in what next steps we may take," he said. That included what, if any decontamination of the Dirksen Senate Office Building would be needed.


Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., also at the news conference, said no symptoms were reported by those near the powder. "Everybody's fine" and there is "no cause for alarm," he said.


"Nobody is sick, we don't expect anybody to get sick," said Frist, a surgeon before his election to the Senate.


The powder was discovered at about 3 p.m. in a mail room near Frist's office on the fourth floor of the Dirksen Building, Gainer said. A congressional official had said earlier the powder was found in Frist's office suite.


Another government official said lab tests were being conducted at Fort Detrick in Maryland, but Gainer refused to give any location.


Authorities do not know if the substance was found on a letter or a package, the chief said.


The Homeland Security Department is monitoring the situation, spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said.


Ricin, derived from the castor bean plant, can kill within days. Twice as deadly as cobra venom, ricin is relatively easily made. It may be inhaled, ingested or injected.


Police found traces of ricin in a north London apartment last January and arrested seven men of North African origin in connection with the virulent toxin that has been linked to al-Qaida terrorists and Iraq (news - web sites).


A package containing ricin was also found at a post facility serving Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in South Carolina in October.


An FBI (news - web sites) official said the bureau was awaiting the result of tests at the Fort Detrick laboratory before deciding whether to get more fully involved in the case.


Mail to congressional offices has been irradiated since deadly anthrax was found in letters sent to the offices of Sens. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., in 2001. No one was arrested in those incidents.


Frist said irradiation would likely have no effect on ricin because the substance is neither a virus or a bacterium.
 
Ok.

But why such a tiny amount? What is the deal?

Are the terrorists just trying to scare us? Is this some yahoo trying to prove a point?

What is going on?
 
Ricin, derived from the castor bean plant, can kill within days. Twice as deadly as cobra venom, ricin is relatively easily made. It may be inhaled, ingested or injected.
Click to expand...

We need a three-day waiting period for the purchase of castor beans. That will surely fix the problem, right?
 
Anyone remember, a year ago, the arrests of seven Muslims in London with lots of ricin?


http://news.indiainfo.com/2003/01/20/20mosque.html

Nah, they're not developing or researching this stuff, especially not since you can grow the plants about anywhere, make the poison relatively easily, and terrorize folks on the cheap with it......

Yeah, it's got to be a Reichstag Fire situation. The CIA put that ricin in the senate building to pump up Bush's poll numbers.

Terrorists had nothing at all to do with it......

hillbilly
 
But why such a tiny amount? What is the deal?
Click to expand...
That's the scary thing about ricin - it only takes a very tiny amount to kill (not to mention that it's a lousy way to die - it takes a couple days and is very painful). The good news is that it's difficult to grind the stuff fine enough to become 'aerosolized', and simply getting some on you isn't a big deal unless you got it in a wound or something.
 
IIRC, a ComBloc country asasinated a person in London a few years ago with ricin. The killer walked up behind the victim on a public street and fired a pellet laced with ricin into the back of the victims leg. The pellet was tiny but it had holes drilled in it. The holes were filled with ricin. Evidently ricin is deadly in very tiny amounts. Anybody else hear about this incident? I believe the "gun" the killer used was an umbrella.
 
Yep, Henry I agree. Just a few minutes ago, Kelly on Fox was decribing how it jumped out of her high definition TV, sat on the couch, had a few snaks, then disappeared. :eek: And just late last week, I recall both of HERS trying to flop out while she attempted to ride a unicycle - in high heels. :rolleyes:
 
Ky Larry -

I take it you are referring to the assassination of Georgie Markov in 1978?

http://www.portfolio.mvm.ed.ac.uk/studentwebs/session2/group12/georgie.htm

As he neared the people queuing for the bus he felt a stabbing pain in his right thigh, he turned to see a man facing away from him stoop and pick up an umbrella. The man apologised in a foreign accent and departed hurriedly in a taxi. Markov latter described the man as thick set and about 40 years old. In pain Markov boarded the bus for work, where he told colleagues what had happened. He noticed a spot of blood on his jeans, and showed a friend a pimple like red swelling on his thigh. When he returned home he became very sick, with a high fever.(Bernard Knight, 1979)

The next day Markov was admitted to St James's hospital, Balham. Examination of hi right thigh showed a central puncture wound of about 2mm diameter, and a circular are of inflammation. A diagnosis of septicaemia was made at the time, due to the very high leukocyte count, 33 000 per cubic mm. Mr Markov died on the third day after the injury was inflicted.

During the post-mortem a single metal sphere the size of a pinhead was excised from the wound. It was 1.52 mm in diameter and composed of 90% platinum and 10% iridium. It had two holes bored through it, with diameters of 0.35mm, leaving 0.28 cubic mm available for toxin retention.
Click to expand...

Emphasis mine.
 
Henry, that was an 'accidental exposure' caused by a wardrobe malfunction. You know how unreliable those bustiers with the tear-away cups can be. Thank God she was wearing her pasties, I know I don't let my wife leave home without hers. Let's stick to the 'hard' news that really matters:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :barf:

see also http://www.drudgereport.com/mattjj.htm [warning:explicit pictures}

edited to add: Though Jackson's stunt was really tacky, I was a lot more offended by Kid Rock wearing the flag as a poncho :fire:
 
Last edited:
I don't understand. Why would terrorists want to kill Congressmen? Most of them are the biggest threat this country has ever faced.
 
Congress and Senate shutting down?

We could save millions they were going to spend on pork today.

But it only took a few posts before the tinfoil was out in full bloom.

Yeah, Bush is so stupid that he forgot to tell people to plant the WMD's in Iraq during the war, but he will run a terrorist threat to boost his poll numbers here at home and not be discovered.

My money is on domestic terrorists. This isn't nearly big enough or flashy enough to suit the overseas kind.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top