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What Is Ricin?
- Ricin is a poison that can be made from the waste left over from
processing castor beans.
- It can be in the form of a powder, a mist, or a pellet, or it can
be dissolved in water or weak acid.
- It is a stable substance. For example, it is not affected much by
extreme conditions such as very hot or very cold temperatures.
Where Is Ricin Found, and How Is It Used?
- Castor beans are processed throughout the world to make castor oil.
Ricin is part of the waste "mash" produced when castor oil
is made. Amateurs can make ricin from castor beans.
- Ricin has some potential medical uses, such as bone marrow transplants
and cancer treatment (to kill cancer cells).
How Can People Be Exposed to Ricin?
- It would take a deliberate act to make ricin and use it to poison
people. Accidental exposure to ricin is highly unlikely.
- People can breathe in ricin mist or powder and be poisoned.
- Ricin can also get into water or food and then be swallowed.
- Pellets of ricin, or ricin dissolved in a liquid, can be injected
into people's bodies.
- Depending on the route of exposure (such as injection), as little
as 500 micrograms of ricin could be enough to kill an adult. A 500-microgram
dose of ricin would be about the size of the head of a pin. A much greater
amount would be needed to kill people if the ricin were inhaled (breathed
in) or swallowed.
- Ricin poisoning is not contagious. It cannot be spread from person
to person through casual contact.
- In 1978, Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian writer and journalist who was
living in London, died after he was attacked by a man with an umbrella.
The umbrella had been rigged to inject a poison ricin pellet under Markov's
skin.
- Some reports have indicated that ricin may have been used in the Iran-Iraq
war during the 1980s and that quantities of ricin were found in Al Qaeda
caves in Afghanistan.
How Does Ricin Work?
- Ricin works by getting inside the cells of a person's body and preventing
the cells from making the proteins they need. Without the proteins,
cells die, and eventually the whole body can shut down and die.
- Specific effects of ricin poisoning depend on whether ricin was inhaled,
swallowed, or injected.
What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Ricin Exposure?
- Inhalation: Within a few hours of inhaling significant amounts of
ricin, the likely symptoms would be coughing, tightness in the chest,
difficulty breathing, nausea, and aching muscles. Within the next few
hours, the body's airways (such as lungs) would become severely inflamed
(swollen and hot), excess fluid would build up in the lungs, breathing
would become even more difficult, and the skin might turn blue. Excess
fluid in the lungs would be diagnosed by x-ray or by listening to the
chest with a stethoscope.
- Ingestion: If someone swallows a significant amount of ricin, he
or she would have internal bleeding of the stomach and intestines that
would lead to vomiting and bloody diarrhea. Eventually, the person's
liver, spleen, and kidneys might stop working, and the person could
die.
- Injection: Injection of a lethal amount of ricin at first would cause
the muscles and lymph nodes near the injection site to die. Eventually,
the liver, kidneys, and spleen would stop working, and the person would
have massive bleeding from the stomach and intestines. The person would
die from multiple organ failure.
- Death from ricin poisoning could take place within 36 to 48 hours
of exposure, whether by injection, ingestion, or inhalation. If the
person lives longer than 5 days without complications, he or she will
probably not die.
How Is Ricin Poisoning Treated?
- No antidote exists for ricin. Ricin poisoning is treated by giving
the victim supportive medical care to minimize the effects of the poisoning.
The types of supportive medical care would depend on several factors,
such as the route by which the victim was poisoned (that is, by inhalation,
ingestion, or injection). Care could include such measures as helping
the victim breathe and giving him or her intravenous fluids and medications
to treat swelling.
How Do We Know for Sure Whether People Have Been Exposed to Ricin?
- If we suspect that people have inhaled ricin, a possible clue would
be that a large number of people who had been close to each other suddenly
developed fever, cough, and excess fluid in their lungs. These symptoms
could be followed by severe breathing problems and possibly death.
- No widely available, reliable test exists to confirm that a person
has been exposed to ricin.
What Can People Do If They Think They May Have Been Exposed to
Ricin?
Unintentional ricin poisoning is highly unlikely. CDC has no reports
of intentional ricin poisoning. If people think they might have been exposed
to ricin, however, they should contact the regional poison control center
at 1-800-222-1222.
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