CRJ 115 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Ricinus, Ricin, Starbucks
Document Summary
Definition - intentional use of toxins or pathogens to produce death or disease in humans. They are obtained from organisms that create them. Pathogens are microorganisms too small to be seen by the human eye. Purchasing - american type culture collection (atcc) Theft - hospital, research lab or germ bank. Isolation and culturing - beyond most terrorist groups capability. Food supply - starbucks example - drinking it bc of infected cows. Infected insects - mosquitoes contaminating animals - mad cow (cows in britain were infected) Agents of choice: smallpox - ussr 20 tons for icbm payload, ricin (castor plant beans) - las vegas example, anthrax. Anthrax has been found in cows and horses for thousands of years - can be weaponized. It can be stores almost indefinitely as a dry powder. It can be loaded in a freeze dried condition into an explosive device. It can be disseminated as an aerosol with crude sprayers.
