RICIN
Processing of castor beans. One speck of pure ricin the size of a grain of salt is enough to kill if it is injected or ingested. If inhaled, about 10 times that much would be needed.
potential for the increased use of ricin in some form or another. Discontent and extremism go hand- in-hand and feed off of one another exponentially. As one factor grows so does the other. The larger the group, the greater the potential capabilities of that group may become. There are increased potential revenues and resources available which may be a factor in determining the types of activity employed by an organisation as they attempt to get their message across on a broader scale. For this reason it is believed that the means to employ traditional measures by terrorist groups will continue to outweigh the ability to employ a biotoxin such as ricin - despite the ease of production for this deadly biotoxin. On the other hand, the lone wolf could
very well see ricin as their de facto choice in reigning fear, destruction, or terror on the general populace – or to murder a selected victim against whom they hold a grudge. Working alone or with maybe one or two others the lone wolf is limited in financial resources, which may require them to seriously consider the least expensive and easiest weapon to produce and employ in their operations. For the lone wolf, it is a matter of what works best for the least amount of time, effort and money. In a nutshell - the most bang for the buck. Ricin production meets all of these criteria, hands down.
LTC Steve Lelbach is a branch-qualified Chemical Officer in USAR (US Urban Search & Rescue). He holds a M.A. in Homeland Security and a Certification in Homeland Security, Level III (CHS III) from the American Board for Certification in Homeland Security.
CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL & NUCLEAR WARFARE | 2012/02 | 65
The toxin produced is lethal at doses of as little as 500 micrograms. It can be used as an aerosol to adversely affect agricultural operations or contaminate buildings and public gathering places
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