Posted on 02/29/2008 3:14:39 AM PST by maquiladora
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Preliminary tests indicate that a package found at a motel contained the toxin ricin, and seven people have been taken to hospitals, authorities said.
Police were called to the Extended Stay America Motel on Thursday and retrieved a package from the motel manager that was determined to be a chemical or controlled substance, Officer Ramone Denby said.
Two preliminary tests indicate it contained ricin, he said. Results from further tests by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a second local lab are expected Friday, police said.
Homeland Security officials joined local police in the investigation. Officials from the FBI, Las Vegas Health District, a hazardous materials team and the National Guard were also at the scene.
Officers cordoned off the area and isolated the room where the substance was found.
Three motel employees and another person were quarantined and decontaminated at the site, then taken to hospitals for further testing, Denby said. All appeared to be in good condition, he said. Three police officers who had been exposed were also taken to hospitals.
It takes between six and eight hours for someone exposed to ricin to show signs of contamination, Denby said.
A woman who answered the phone at the motel declined comment.
Ricin is made from the waste left over from processing castor beans, and can be extremely lethal. As little as 500 micrograms, or about the size of the head of a pin, can kill a human, according to the CDC.
I have always wondered on the TV shows, they always show the cop ‘tasting’ the alleged coke to see if it is real. I stopped by to see if there was anything new known...anything?
I just got back myself.
They seem to have the news well under control...
:)That’s it.Gives me the chills.
fatima, do you still have a dreams thread...if you do one again in the canteen please ping me.
fatima, do you still have a dreams thread...if you do one again in the canteen please ping me.
I will.I did a search and can’t find the other one.We had some really good dreams posted that came true.My favorite was the adoption of a baby.((((Hugs)))
That’s it.Your good:)Check out post 78.It is so beautiful.
Awwwwwww *blush*
Yes, that’s the plant. A very common shrub, hardy, evergreen. Ricin is basically a distillation of its seeds’ toxic chemical. The process is very simple but I’m obviously not going to post it here. Besides, making it can kill you pretty handily. That may, in fact, have happened here. Tough nuts if so!
Glad you are starting to feel better. Why has it taken two weeks to hear about this “incident” though? FR is better than this:’)
i had a dream about some muslims getting sent back from whence they came. hope that is prophetic
I agree wholeheartedly about your observation relating to fever. No anti-pyretics taken here until it approaches 102. Fever is miserable to the viruses too.
Problem was, I didn’t have any fever with this bout. Almost was wishing for it. Had some very mild chills and sweats, that’s it.
I had very little cough and yes it was mostly non productive. What I had was chest tightness and breathlessness. Intense fatigue with that yucky feeling and terrible sinus symptoms for 4-5 days. It all started with a sore throat that lasted for a week. (no strep)
Yes, there was a report on 60 minutes about this man. Injected ricin is much more toxic than ingested. Flu-like symptoms generally worsen along with high fever until death.
Lupine is another garden plant with similar leaf appearance to castor bean. Very common and some varieties have a poison that acts similarly to caster bean poisoning, although its potency is much less. It is however known to kill sheep and other small livestock in the western states and in lesser doses creates birth defects in animals.
I’ve always wondered why people order castor seeds from garden catalogs and go through great pains in my own gardens to keep poisonous species to a minimum - there are a fair number in many garden catalogs and nurseries.
The idea of a poof-box of it secreted on a Janet Air flight to Area 51 might be enough to put various high-ranking sphincters into full-pucker mode...
It gives ME the creeps, and I'm just a midwestern nobody (who does NOT like the idea of either a wide-open border serving as a conduit for terrorists, OR a "lone nut on a mission" with a bunch of deadly poison).
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