Ricin - Bioweapon of Choice?

Ricin is becoming an attractive option for malicious actors and terrorists wanting to employ biological weapons, due to its relative ease of manufacture, ready availability of precursor materials, accessible instructions, and straightforward means of distribution. Dr Amesh Adalja from the John Hopkins Centre for Health Security stated that ricin attacks would likely continue due to “the ubiquity of castor beans and the ease of basic weaponisation”. The Centre for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) support this, suggesting “it seems likely that terrorists will continue to seek to incorporate the poison [ricin] into their plots”. In fact, a ricin attack’s ability to “instil terror in the population, causing local economic disruption”, as identified by the US Congressional Research Service, adds further value to its use as a weapon.

WHAT IS RICIN?

Ricin is an extremely toxic poison that occurs naturally in castor beans, and can be extracted, or produced as part of a slurry containing the husks of the beans. However, in order for the substance to be toxic enough for weaponisation, it needs to undergo purification. Once this has been achieved, exposure to purified ricin causes the body’s cells to die, with potentially fatal consequences. 

The poison can be inhaled, ingested, or injected, and according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are several methods of dissemination, including: (a) as an aerosol; (b) dissolved in water; (c) food contamination; and, (d) injected into the bloodstream. Whilst individuals can be exposed to ricin via contact with eyes and skin, ricin is unlikely to be absorbed directly through skin. As a toxin, ricin is not contagious. Historically, most incidents have relied on the delivery of a powdered form of ricin via, for instance, an envelope.

Death from ricin poisoning takes place within 36 to 72 hours, but symptoms can develop between four and 24 hours, depending on route of exposure. If inhaled, individuals can experience respiratory distress, fever, nausea, heavy sweating, pulmonary edema, low blood pressure, and respiratory failure, leading to death. If ingested, vomiting and diarrhoea will likely occur, as well as severe dehydration, low blood pressure, seizures, blood in urine, organ failure, and death.

HISTORY OF RICIN

The ready availability of ricin, coupled to its extreme potency when administered intravenously or if inhaled, has identified this toxin as a potential biological warfare agent. 

The US military first began investigating ricin as a potential weapon for use in World War I. They tested its viability in both a large-scale deployment via a dust cloud, and through more targeted means, coating bullets and shrapnel to poison opposition forces upon contact. World War I ended before the toxin could be properly weaponised, but in World War II, the US resumed its investigation. However, it was found to be less economically viable than the deployment of chemical weapons. 

Indeed, biological weapons, in general, are more difficult to successfully acquire and use than chemical weapons. The US Congressional Research Service quoted estimates that eight metric tonnes of ricin would be required to kill 50 percent of people in a 100 km2 area. Nevertheless, even if the use of ricin as a weapon of mass destruction is unlikely, its potential to cause death and panic on a smaller scale is generally acknowledged.

Moreover, in the modern age, the prevalence of instructions via the Internet for manufacturing ricin increase its viability for use as a weapon by non-state actors.

The most famous example took place in September 1978. Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian dissident, was shot in the leg in London with an umbrella modified to fire a small pellet containing ricin. Markov died four days later. In a similar event, in August 1981, an exposed CIA double agent, Boris Korczak, was shot with a similar ricin pellet whilst shopping in Virginia, US. On this occasion, the victim survived the attempted assassination.

POTENTIAL IMPACT ON BUSINESS

A US congressional commission found, in 2007, that the US was significantly unprepared for a bioterrorism attack, rating the government’s implementation of countermeasures an “F” for “fail”. In 2015, a further assessment of US biodefence efforts, conducted by the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefence stated that the country was “dangerously unprepared to prevent or respond to such attacks”.

In the event that a private business was targeted, the loss, both in terms of injury and economic disruption, would likely be significant. Private businesses do not generally have the procedures and equipment needed to successfully detect bioweapons and toxins. In the case of ricin being delivered to a business, there is a likely chance it would reach its target, and depending on the potency, may cause death or serious injury. Following such an event, the business would have to be quarantined by emergency responders, and the site would have to undergo extensive and costly decontamination. 

The decontamination process can be prolonged, as the process first requires identifying the agent, determining the scale of exposure, and finally implementing appropriate clean-up and prevention measures. According to CDC guidelines, the rapid detection protocol will indicate the presence of ricin within six to eight hours; however, this test only indicates the presence of ricin. The toxin activity test which determines the potency takes an additional 48 hours. The site would then need to be thoroughly cleaned by trained professionals. Furthermore, public confidence in safety would be severely impacted, affecting reputation, staff retention and business over the longer-term.

CAN YOU PROTECT AGAINST RICIN?

There are currently no vaccines or treatments available for ricin poisoning; however, efforts to develop a vaccine are ongoing. Protection efforts largely fall to adequate detection and decontamination measures. Screening programmes for mail allow for suspicious material, such as ricin powder, to be identified before it can cause damage. In the event that ricin is discovered, the presence of emergency procedures allow for building evacuation and the timely mobilisation of emergency services. An educational programme can also train the public and staff on how to identify such threats and their symptoms and what to do if suspicious.