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Responders to hazmat and WMD incidents who have been active since 911 are well aware of what happened in the wake of the anthrax attack in 2011. Thousands of anthrax scares kept hazmat teams scurrying to “white powder” calls, almost all of which turned out to be harmless substances. The newest scourge involves another biological agent - ricin.

Ricin letters have been sent to the President, a US Senator and New York’s Mayor Bloomberg, and the organization Mayors Against Illegal Guns. The letters attack the stance of persons and organizations who back stricter gun control legislation.

Terrorist planting a powdered biological weapon.

When the anthrax attacks happened, news organizations worldwide turned to Emergency
Film Group because it had recently release a training film called Response to Anthrax Threats. As is the case now with ricin, little was known about anthrax.

In 2001, letters containing anthrax were sent to Senator Tom Daschle, NBC and other media outlets. The anthrax had been weaponized and milled to very fine dust. In the aftermath, there were nineteen confirmed cases of anthrax and five persons died. Many more were exposed and underwent treatment. Anthrax can kill up to 90% of its victims.  The most likely and most lethal route of exposure is through inhalation. Within one week of exposure acute respiratory distress and cyanosis may appear. A vaccine is available and certain antibiotics can be effective immediately after exposure. However, there is usually no effective treatment after symptoms begin.

In WMD training for emergency responders, biological agents are usually divided into four major categories: Viruses, Bacteria, Toxins, and Rickettsia.  Anthrax is categorized as bacteria, while ricin is a toxin.

Biological toxins are produced by plants, animals, or microorganisms. Ricin is a protein found in the castor bean plant. The plant (ricinus communis), generally found in areas with a year-round warm climate, is a fast-growing leafy plant that can grow ten feet in a single season. Oil from the castor plant has been used for medical purposes for thousands of years: everything from hair growth to a laxative.

Castor oil is the key component in numerous industrial applications. Its water-resistance has made it a component in paint and varnish. Castor oil can maintain viscosity at extremely high temperatures so has been used as motor oil and in nylon production.

The seeds contain between 40% and 60% oil. Ricin is also present in lower concentrations. A lethal dose of ricin is considered to be four to eight seeds for a healthy adult. However, reports of actual poisoning are relatively rare, and suicides involving ingestion of castor beans are unheard of.  However, a more lethal form of ricin can be extracted from castor beans by concentrating it. Videos on line have explained how to this- a fairly uncomplicated, but time consuming process using readily available supplies and chemicals.

The likely routes of exposure are through ingestion, injection, or inhalation. A lethal does may be as little as a few grains of table salt.

If the ricin is ingested, symptoms may be delayed by up to 36 hours but commonly begin within 2 to 4 hours. These include a burning sensation in mouth and throat, abdominal pain, purging, bloody diarrhea, and seizures. Within several days there is severe dehydration, a drop in blood pressure and a decrease in urine. Unless treated, death can be expected to occur within 3 to 5 days. Antidotes are under development, but there has only been limited testing with humans. Symptoms can be treated, but long term organ damage is likely in survivors. Commercially available castor oil is not toxic to humans in normal doses

Ricin is known to have been used by injection in at least two assassinations.  In 1978, the Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov was assassinated by Bulgarian secret police who surreptitiously injected him on a London street with a modified umbrella using compressed gas to fire a tiny pellet contaminated with ricin into his leg.  He died in a hospital a few days later; the pellet was discovered during an autopsy. Markov had defected from Bulgaria some years previously and had subsequently written books and made radio broadcasts which were highly critical of the Bulgarian communist regime

The United States restricts the possession or use of ricin since it is a potential weapon of biological terrorism. According to the 2002 Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness Act, possessing, using or transferring ricin is prohibited. There are no federal regulations restricting the possession of castor bean plants.

The recent spate of ricin letters has often been treated in the press as part of the gun culture issue. But there should be no mistake, sending a ricin letter to anyone is an act of terrorism. The federal regulation is clear. Terrorism is “the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof in furtherance of political or social objectives.”

Written by Gordon Massingham, the director and writer of the Emergency Film Group program “Terrorism: Biological Weapons.” Part II of the series will address sampling and decontamination issues.

Earlier this week, the commissioner of the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria, said that testimony gathered from casualties and medical staff indicated that the nerve agent sarin was used by rebel fighters. In an interview with a Swiss-Italian television station, Carla Del Ponte, a veteran war crimes prosecutor, said, “Our investigators have been in neighboring countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals and, according to their report of last week which I have seen, there are strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof of the use of sarin gas, from the way the victims were treated.” Del Ponte added, "This was used on the part of the opposition, the rebels, not by the government authorities."

The commission later released a statement saying that investigators had “not reached conclusive findings as to the use of chemical weapons in Syria by any parties to the conflict”.  White House spokesman Jay Carney said that the U.S. is “highly skeptical” that Syrian rebels had used chemical weapons and added, “We find it highly likely that chemical weapons, if they were in fact used in Syria - and there is certainly evidence that they were - that the Assad regime was responsible.”

Photo released by state news agency Sana shows people being treated after an attack in Syria.

But Del Ponte’s statements raise the issue of whether or not Syrian rebel forces have access to chemical weapons. A U.S. State Department official told CNN that the United States does not have information suggesting that rebels have "either the capability or the intent to deploy or use such weapons." But, the source also said facts are not complete and the investigation continues.

Al-Nusra Front, the strongest Syrian opposition group, is actually a front for al Qaeda in Iraq, who have been known to use chemical weapons in the past, detonating a series of chlorine bombs from 2006 through 2007. Evidence shows, however, that there has been a debate among al Qaeda leadership regarding the use of chemical weapons. A letter written by Osama bin Laden five days before his death urges his followers who were considering “poison” to be “careful of doing it without enough study of all aspects, including political and media reaction.”

The Syrian civil war, which began with anti-government protests in March 2011, has now claimed an estimated 70,000 lives and forced 1.2 million Syrian refugees to flee.

Emergency Film Group’s Terrorism: Chemical Weapons DVD is part of the WMD Response Package. This safety video is designed to provide training and response guidelines to emergency personnel who would be called upon to respond to a terrorist incident involving chemical agents. To learn more, read here. . .

In the hours and days that followed the Boston Marathon bombings, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies asked members of the public to contact them with any photos or videos taken during the event that could have held clues to the identities of the people who had placed the bombs. Several photographs taken by an anonymous photographer showed men dressed in dark blue jackets and tan pants, moving throughout the bombing site. Some of these men were in the photographs were carrying large black backpacks. The photographs went viral throughout the internet and many people thought these were the suspects. It turns out, however, that these men were actually members of a National Guard Civil Support Team (CST), pre-scheduled to be at the event.  

Photos of what many people thought were pictures of the suspects of the Boston Marathon bombing.

CSTs are the National Guard’s full-time response force for emergencies or terrorist events involving weapons of mass destruction, toxic chemicals, or natural disasters. CSTs are routinely pre-staged at large public events, like the Boston Marathon, to help reduce the risks and assist civilian authorities. There is a very real threat of terrorists adding chemical, biological or nuclear materials in their improvised explosive devices (IED) – referred to as a “dirty bomb”.

One photograph shows a CST holding a radiation monitoring device in the immediate aftermath of the bombing. During a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee's Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence which took place a week after the bombing, Subcommittee chairman Rep. Peter King (R-NY) asked Richard Daddario, the NYPD's Deputy Commissioner for Counterterrorism to explain a possible scenario had the Boston bombing suspects used dirty bombs in their terrorist acts.  Daddario replied, “If a dirty bomb were to go off in Boston, there would be a large area that would be contaminated for a substantial period of time...it would shut down all economic activity in that area, chase residents out of the area for substantial periods of time until there could be a cleanup, [and] there would be mass panic.”

A CST holding a radiation monitoring device at bombing site.

Heightened concerns over the possibility of more acts of domestic terrorism only re-enforce how critical it is that emergency responders and public safety officials are fully trained on how to effectively handle an attack. Emergency Film Group’s Terrorism: Explosive & Incendiary Weapons and Terrorism: Biological Weapons DVD training films both provide the essential training in the event a terrorism crisis occurs.

The second part of Emergency Film Group’s production shoot for Responding to Highway Incidents Involving Commercial Explosives brought us to Alabama. (See related story here).

Sound engineer Dillard Morrison and DP Jim Simeone preparing for shot.

Our first stop was at a surface coal mine run by Nelson Brothers Inc. Our crew was given a tour of the mine, including a demonstration of how the coal is exposed. We got some great technical footage of the way commercial explosives are utilized in this endeavor.

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Day two in Alabama was spent with the all-volunteer Dora Fire Department. One deadly scenario that can occur when transporting commercial explosives is the truck catching on fire. The Dora F.D. did a great job in helping us create that situation for the film. We also did some filming at a local home that had previously burned down, recreating another dangerous situation that emergency responders should always be aware of when dealing with any kind of incidents involving explosives. (See related story here.)  

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The Emergency Film Group production team recently traveled to Texas and Alabama to film location shots for a project for the Institute of Makers of Explosives (IME). According to its website, the IME “develops recommendations and guidelines for all facets of explosives operations from manufacture to use and disposal. These recommendations and guidelines are produced as Safety Library Publications and promoted throughout the industry and to regulating agencies.”

The film, Responding to Highway Incidents Involving Commercial Explosives, will provide training for firefighters, law enforcement, emergency medical personnel, truck drivers, industry personnel, and others who may need to respond to an incident involving commercial explosives. Commercial explosives play an important role in today’s world and are utilized in mining, construction and in the petrochemical industry.

Over seven billion pounds of commercial explosives are manufactured and used every year in the United States. Most of these explosives must be transported over the highway. The IME and the US Department of Transportation (DOT) have established rigorous and comprehensive safety practices to help prevent accidents.

One of the scenarios highlighted in the film involves guidelines and procedures emergency responders should follow when a truck transporting commercials explosives is involved in a vehicle accident. EFG had the pleasure of working with the Fort Worth Fire Department. Members of the department, as well as members of the Fort Worth Police Department, participated in the filming. Several local actors also played the roles of ‘victims’ and ‘bystanders’. A great job by everyone involved.

All of Emergency Film Group’s programs are created with the assistance of leaders in emergency response training. This technical committee for this program included experts from The Austin Powder Co., Core Labs, North America Orica Mining Services, Nelson Brothers Inc., Halliburton, Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and Eastern Kentucky University.

A massive explosion at a West, TX fertilizer plant has left almost 200 people injured and at least 5 to 15 people dead. Officials fear the number of fatalities will rise, as many people are unaccounted for, including several firefighters who were fighting a fire at the plant when the explosion occurred. The city’s EMS director, Dr. George Smith, confirmed the deaths of two EMS workers and said that three to five firefighters and a police officer were reported missing.

The blast occurred at 7:50 p.m. and registered as a 2.1-magnitude seismic event, according to the United States Geological Survey. One city councilor reported that the four block area around the explosion's epicenter was “totally decimated.” Fifty to 75 houses were destroyed, an apartment complex with about 50 units, that was reduced to "a skeleton," a middle school and a nursing home. Many witnesses compared the scene to that of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. The materials made at the plant were similar to the materials used to fuel the bomb that blew up the Murrah Federal Building.

Texas explosion registered on Richter Scale.

Firefighters had been called to the West Fertilizer Company plant earlier to put out a small fire. The explosion occurred as they were fighting the fire. Officials are still investigating to determine if the chemicals at the plant, including ammonium nitrate, caused the explosions.

Ammonium nitrate is a commonly manufactured fertilizer, with nitrogen making up about one-third of this chemical compound. It’s very popular as a plant fertilizer because of its solubility in soil, allowing the nitrate to move deep into the root zone under wet conditions. Ammonium nitrate is sensitive to heat and pressure which can lead to an explosion.

Another concern to authorities is the potential of exposure to anhydrous ammonia, a toxic gas that is also used as a fertilizer. West Fertilizer Co. reported it has 54,000 pounds of the chemical at the plant.

Anhydrous ammonia gas is dangerous. Upon inhalation, throat passages and lungs swell, leading to hoarseness, hardening of the respiratory tract, and in sufficient concentrations – suffocation and death. Contact with eyes can cause visual impairment. Ingestion can result in liver malfunction and coma. Although anhydrous ammonia is classified as a non-flammable gas, it can ignite with explosive force when mixed with air in the right concentration.

This explosion comes almost 66 years to the day of another massive explosion that occurred in Texas City. On April 16, 1947, the French vessel SS Grandcamp, docked at the Texas City port when a fire broke out, detonating 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate. The explosions killed almost 600 people and left thousands injured.

Emergency Film Group’s Inorganic Oxidizers DVD is one of the DVDs of the HazChem Series. This informative DVD provides training to emergency response personnel who may be called upon to respond to a leak, spill or a fire involving ammonium nitrate, calcium hypochlorite or nitric acid. Another program in the series, Anhydrous Ammonia, discusses response issues for this dangerous gas. To learn more, read here. . .

The U.S. Secret Service has confirmed that a ricin-laced letter addressed to the President was intercepted at the remote White House mail screening facility on Tuesday. The letter contained a “granular substance” and preliminary field tests confirmed the substance was ricin, which has the potential to be toxic even in small amounts.

Another letter, which also field tested positive for ricin, was mailed to Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi. That letter was intercepted at the remote Senate mail screening facility. Other Washington lawmakers who have also received suspicious letters or packages include Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan and Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake.

In a statement earlier today, the FBI said that the investigation is ongoing and there be more letters that will be received. The spokesperson said there is no indication of any connection to the Boston Marathon attacks.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), ricin is a poison that comes from castor beans. It is part of the waste left over when castor oil is made from the beans and can be found in the form of powder, mist, a pellet or dissolved in water.  The CDC reports that U.S. military had experimented in the 1940’s with using ricin as a warfare agent.

When exposure to ricin occurs, the poison gets inside the cells of the body and prevents the cells from making the proteins they need. Without the proteins, cells die. As more and more cells die, death may occur. Ricin can enter a person’s system through inhalation, ingestion or through skin and eye contact. There is no known antidote for ricin so if someone is exposed, it is imperative to get the ricin off or out of the body as quickly as possible. Remove all clothing (cutting off clothing that needs to be pulled over the head), rapidly wash entire body with soap and water and seek medical care immediately.

Emergency Film Group’s Terrorism: Biological Weapons DVD training program provides training and response guidelines to emergency personnel who would be called upon to respond to a terrorist incident involving biological agents. To learn more, read here. . .

Could you be suffering an allergic reaction to your computer monitor? How about your brand-new mattress and box spring? What about the kitchen cabinets and carpet in your brand new home? Many products release volatile organic compounds, (VOC or carbon-based chemicals) that are easily evaporated at room temperature. This is known as off-gassing, and can cause allergic reactions such as puffy, red, and watery eyes, runny nose, congestion, coughing, and asthma-like symptoms. Off-gassing can also cause skin irritations like rashes, itchiness, and hives.

Products such as new cars, toys and tennis balls can also produce off-gassing, such as that recognizable ‘new car smell’ for example. Adhesives, wallpaper, and paints are other easily identifiable because of the odors they give off.

But not all off-gassing produces an odor. A flame-retardant chemical used in the plastic of computer monitors begins evaporating from the heat of the monitor when it is turned on. Other odorless offenders include new furniture, cabinetry, and floor coverings.

Although it’s almost impossible today to avoid products that off-gas, there are some things you can do to reduce exposure to them. Experts suggest regularly moving the air in your home by opening doors and windows and using fans. Keeping the humidity low also helps, as many of the chemicals that evaporate, do so in high rates of heat and humidity. Before purchasing and installing a new carpet or products that contain solvents, adhesives, and exposed particleboard, request that item(s) be opened and left to air out somewhere in order to off-gas before installation in your home.

For industry workers, exposure to these chemicals can cause long-term health problems. Emergency Film Group’s Benzene, Toluene & Xylene offers safe handling and protective measures for workers and safe response procedures, as well as other critical information. To learn more, read here. . .

A flame-retardant chemical used in the plastic of computer monitors begins evaporating from the heat of the monitor when it is turned on.

A recent find in a Memphis home is one scenario that is becoming all too common across the country. Police officers found an active meth lab cooking underneath the mattress of a two year-old girl. Investigators said they could smell the chemicals wafting through an open window, while the child was asleep inside.

Because the production of methamphetamine - can be smoked, snorted or injected - is cheap and easy, and the numbers of people who have become addicted have reached almost epidemic proportions. Many of the ingredients used in manufacturing are available at any retail or hardware store. Members of law enforcement say this drug has the ability to impact communities more intensely than other illegal drugs have.

The manufacturing process involves dangerous chemicals and substances like ether, acetone, iodine crystal, sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide, among others. And every pound of meth produced can yield up to 5 pounds in toxic waste, according to DEA estimates.

In 2011, 10,287 meth labs were seized across the country. Children are found in about seventy percent of homes where labs have been seized. Most of these children, if tested, would likely test positive for methamphetamine. The vapors from cooking the chemicals end up everywhere – counter tops, carpets, food, clothes and toys. Children breath the vapors in and ingest them.

Labs are found in rural, urban and suburban areas. They are found in parking lots, in cars, in parks and even in the retail stores where the ingredients were purchased. With more and more meth labs becoming so prevalent, experts recommend everyone recognizing the signs that someone could be producing the drug in their neighborhood. Some of the signs to look for include:

• Unusual and strong odors.
• Large numbers of chemical containers near the property.
• Windows blacked out or covered with blankets, sheets, etc.
• Large number of bottles or containers used for secondary purposes.
• Little or no traffic during the day, but lots of traffic at late hours.

Emergency Film Group’s Response to Illicit Drug Labs DVD is response training for emergency personnel who may encounter a clandestine drug lab during routine calls, or who may be involved in taking down a lab. It’s an ideal resource for law enforcement, hazmat teams, EMS, and other emergency personnel. To learn more, read here. . .

Firefighters battle a blaze from a shake-and-bake meth lab explosion.