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CDC begins watch for ricin

Emergency Management Alert, November 1, 2003

Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have begun a daily watch for ricin, a deadly toxin discovered in October at the Greenville, SC, airport's mail center, the Associated Press reports.

The October 15 incident was the first time ricin was found in a public facility in the United States, according to CDC officials. In the two weeks after the poison was found, CDC officials reviewed 97,000 poison calls nationwide, looking for any signs of an outbreak of the toxin. They didn't find anything.

Authorities initially investigated two South Carolina cases in which patients suffered "multi-organ failure," which is consistent with ricin poisoning, but both were caused by other illnesses.

Health departments and emergency rooms were also told to watch for possible ricin-related illnesses. The CDC and state health officials examined the mail facility's 36 workers and found no illness related to ricin. The CDC closed the mail facility on October 22 to take more than 70 samples, but no contamination was found and the center reopened October 24.

No arrests were made in the case, which the FBI is now investigating. Authorities said they believe the package was meant as an extortion attempt, because a note inside it threatened to use the poison unless the government repeals a federal regulation requiring rest for truckers.

Ricin is derived from the castor bean plant, is easy to make, and is deadly in small doses. When inhaled or ingested, people can develop fever, cough, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and low blood pressure within eight hours. Death can come within 36 and 72 hours of exposure. No antidote exists for ricin.

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