Ricin Scare In Las Vegas

Ricin Scare In Las Vegas - Posted by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at BlogHer)

Man in Critical Condition in Ricin Case

Did you hear the news about the Ricin scare in Las Vegas? What is up with that? Why did it take two weeks before anyone even noticed? Isn’t it kinda scary how easy it was for this guy to be hospitalized since February 14th, before anyone found out he had been exposed (and possibly could have exposed others) to Ricin?

What the Heck is Ricin?

A person who inhales even the tiniest bit of ricin (the aforementioned 500 microgram lethal dose translates to an amount roughly the size of the head of a pin) will suffer severe respiratory symptoms followed by pulmonary edema, low blood pressure and possibly death.

Ingesting the chemical produces a different set of dire symptoms, which include vomiting, bloody diarrhea, hallucinations, seizures and… you guessed it… death.

Interesting historical note: ricin was used in the nasty, Soviet-spy-style murder of Bulgarian journalist Georgi Markov in 1978. The attacker struck Markov with an umbrella that had been hacked to inject a pellet of ricin beneath his skin.

So, back to the Las Vegas hotel incident. The man who had been staying in the room where the ricin was found was hospitalized with respiratory symptoms on February 14th, but made no mention (perhaps for obvious reasons) of having been exposed to the poison. It’s still unclear what or who was the intended target of the chemical. Authorities suspect that some sort of sinister action was planned, although there’s no evidence that it was terrorism-related. The man remains in critical condition.

Now How Did That Get There?

Ricin is supposed to be one of the most toxic substances on the planet. Derived from the processing of castor beans, a pinhead of the lethal substance can kill a person.

From a post by Andrea at Bitten Bound…

A spokesman for the F.B.I. says the incident does not appear to be terror related, although authorities acknowledge there is no “legal or proper reason for any ordinary person to possess ricin.”

So far, this is turning out to be a real mystery. And even though they are saying it had nothing to do with terrorism, I imagine it must be terrifying to the people potentially exposed to this stuff.

On a lighter note…

At Go Girlfriend…

Ever looked under the bed in your hotel room? My partner always takes a look before we check out, but I’m not courageous enough - I don’t want to know what else is under there.

A man found more than he expected this morning in his Las Vegas hotel room when he found a small bag of castor beans and Ricin, a deadly poison.

This Ricin scare raises several questions…How easy is it for someone to make this stuff? Can any crazy, psycho-nut, killer, make Ricin? Or does it take a sophisticated, scientifically inclined, psycho-nut? And, if he didn’t make it himself…How easy is it to buy this stuff? I’m sure we will be learning more in the days to come.

So…What do you think about this story? Does it make you worry? Do you have a sick curiosity over the mystery of it all? A little of both? Have you heard anything new on this?

Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan
CatherineBlogs, The Political Voices of Women, Care2 Election Blog