# Ricin Chemweapon found in UK! London On Alert! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 7, 2003, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricin-chemweapon-found-in-uk-london-on-alert/147155 "2003-01-07T16:46:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricin-chemweapon-found-in-uk-london-on-alert/147155/1 "2003-01-07T16:46:56Z")
See here [http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/01/07/terror.poison/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/01/07/terror.poison/index.html) Ricin is deadly! In powdered form, it spreads like a gas! UK Dopers–keep in contact! ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricin-chemweapon-found-in-uk-london-on-alert/147155/2 "2003-01-07T17:57:55Z")
Hmm? I wouldn’t say London is “on alert”; I just came home from work and only found out about the story reading a news website. Nothing seems to have changed much outside. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricin-chemweapon-found-in-uk-london-on-alert/147155/3 "2003-01-07T18:19:50Z")
From the article > [@](#): > > If injected, ricin causes immediate death of the muscles and lymph nodes near the site of the injection. Failure of the major organs and death usually follows. > > Ricin is so powerful that a single molecule inside a cell can shut down protein synthesis, killing the cell off. > > If inhaled, a small amount of ricin can cause death within 36 to 48 hours from failure of the respiratory and circulatory systems. If ingested, it causes nausea, vomiting and internal bleeding of the stomach and intestines, followed by failure of the liver, spleen and kidneys, and death by collapse of the circulatory system. The authorities are calling on citizens to be highly aware of their surroundings, & report any suspicious activities to the Police. Close enough to an “alert” to me! ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricin-chemweapon-found-in-uk-london-on-alert/147155/4 "2003-01-07T18:20:54Z")
Me neither. I’ve just read the [BBC News Website](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2636099.stm) ,and they seem to be saying that the police are saying > [@](#): > > ‘alert not alarm’, we would re-iterate our earlier appeals for the public to remain vigilant and aware and report anything suspicious to police." ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricin-chemweapon-found-in-uk-london-on-alert/147155/5 "2003-01-07T18:29:37Z")
**Bosda** - the BBC are also saying that it was a tiny amount, not enough to be used in a chemical bomb or spray. Trust me, there’s no alert; the streets are filled with people as usual, the underground is running smoothly and I’ve seen no more police around than any other day. It’s certainly a worry, but everything I’ve seen and read suggests that it was an “amateur” operation. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricin-chemweapon-found-in-uk-london-on-alert/147155/6 "2003-01-07T18:33:29Z")
They’re “North African”–could Quaddifi be getting back into the game? ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricin-chemweapon-found-in-uk-london-on-alert/147155/7 "2003-01-07T18:37:37Z")
He’d be an idiot to try, he’s only now starting to normalise relations with Britain following the Lockerbie trial. My guess? Individual extremists, not even necessarily part of a larger international group. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricin-chemweapon-found-in-uk-london-on-alert/147155/8 "2003-01-07T18:58:52Z")
UPDATES----------------------------- 1)PM Blair describes this as the most significant terrorist event since 9/11. BBC link- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk\_news/2636099.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2636099.stm) 2)Additional Ricin data & lab test info from the samples captured— [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk\_news/2636153.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2636153.stm) ---
**Author:** ![Azael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a8b319/32.png) [@Azael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azael)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricin-chemweapon-found-in-uk-london-on-alert/147155/9 "2003-01-07T19:37:23Z")
Mankind never should have opened the Pandora’s Box that is the castor bean. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricin-chemweapon-found-in-uk-london-on-alert/147155/10 "2003-01-08T01:09:48Z")
> [@](#): > > There is no known antidote. Experts say it is easy to make and stockpile, but hard to use as an agent of mass death. While I don’t want to sound like I don’t care, this appears to be another example of something to be concerned about but not quite as alarmed as if we found traces of plutonium in the apartment. More media hysteria. Not that I’m not gonna look over my shoulder at the bus stop tomorrow, especially eyeing the guy with the umbrella with the pointed tip. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricin-chemweapon-found-in-uk-london-on-alert/147155/11 "2003-01-08T05:14:58Z")
[Castor beans](http://waynesword.palomar.edu/plmar99.htm) are a common, naturalized, weed throughout much of the southwest. It grows as a perennial as far north as Sacramento CA. Harvesting the toxin from the seeds is simple enough that it does not require an advanced degree. I’ve grown lovely 15’ castor beans for the past decade, and terrorists have yet to make off with the seeds; which may be purchased at many garden stores. It’s disturbing that someone was grinding up quantities of the seeds at home, but in the US at least, there’s not much that can be done to limit the availability of the seed. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricin-chemweapon-found-in-uk-london-on-alert/147155/12 "2003-01-08T06:45:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor \* > \*\*UPDATES----------------------------- > > 1)PM Blair describes this as the most significant terrorist event since 9/11. > > BBC link- > > [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk\_news/2636099.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2636099.stm) > > \*\* Blair’s quote is [here](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2636153.stm) . It says, “This is the most significant find of poisonous materials in Britain since 11 September 2001 in relation to terrorism and possible attacks on Britain.” Not the same thing at all. ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricin-chemweapon-found-in-uk-london-on-alert/147155/13 "2003-01-08T06:48:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by samclem \* > \*\*Not that I’m not gonna look over my shoulder at the bus stop tomorrow, especially eyeing the guy with the umbrella with the pointed tip. 😃 \*\* A la _The Prisoner_ & Number 6? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricin-chemweapon-found-in-uk-london-on-alert/147155/14 "2003-01-08T07:34:34Z")
A la [Aum Shinrikyo](http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol5no4/olson.htm), **Violet**. But the undertakers from _The Prisoner_ were way cooler. (Anyone else think of _Illuminatus!_ when you see their name?) ---
**Author:** ![Andy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@Andy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricin-chemweapon-found-in-uk-london-on-alert/147155/15 "2003-01-08T08:47:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by samclem \* > Not that I’m not gonna look over my shoulder at the bus stop tomorrow, especially eyeing the guy with the umbrella with the pointed tip. Unless I’ve been horribly whooshed… This is what samclem is talking about [THE KILLING OF Mr. GEORGI MARKOV](http://home.swipnet.se/~w-63664/Web%20Site%206.htm) ---
**Author:** ![ShadowWarrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7993a0/32.png) [@ShadowWarrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowWarrior)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricin-chemweapon-found-in-uk-london-on-alert/147155/16 "2003-01-08T10:59:00Z")
And I thought he was worried about the Penguin… ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricin-chemweapon-found-in-uk-london-on-alert/147155/17 "2003-01-08T11:12:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor \* > \*\*They’re “North African”–could Quaddifi be getting back into the game? \*\* Or merely individual Algerian, Moroccan, Libyan, Tunisian or Egyptian terrorists? It could be part of a feasibility study they were doing, but the worry is - what if the “trace” was the remnants of a production job? That shit is [_nasty_](http://www.nbc-med.org/SiteContent/MedRef/OnlineRef/FieldManuals/medman/Ricin.htm). The “lab” was just down the road from my brother. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricin-chemweapon-found-in-uk-london-on-alert/147155/18 "2003-01-08T11:21:15Z")
Of course, there is another, possibly innocent, [explanation](http://museum.gov.ns.ca/poison/castor.htm): > [@](#): > > In very small doses, Ricin only causes the human digestive tract to convulse- hence the laxative effect of castor oil. Maybe the trace they found was just as a result of making castor oil? ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricin-chemweapon-found-in-uk-london-on-alert/147155/19 "2003-01-08T13:02:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor \* > The authorities are calling on citizens to be highly aware of their surroundings, & report any suspicious activities to the Police. > > Close enough to an “alert” to me! That’s kinda what the British have had to do for the last 30 years. Terrorism isn’t new over there unfortunatly. I read in the paper that the “small amount” is actually enough to kill 250,000 people :eek: ---
**Author:** ![longjohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@longjohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longjohn)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricin-chemweapon-found-in-uk-london-on-alert/147155/20 "2003-01-08T13:05:46Z")
Oh shit there’s all this white stuff falling out of the sky all over london! It could be Ricin! Doomed! We’re all doomed! J. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricin-chemweapon-found-in-uk-london-on-alert/147155.md?page=2)