Ricin

Background

Ricin is a poison found naturally in castor beans. If castor beans are chewed and swallowed, the ricin that comes out can cause injury. Ricin can be made from the waste material left over from processing castor beans.

Ricin can be in the form of a powder, a mist, or a pellet. It can also be dissolved in water or weak acid.

It is stable under normal conditions. However, it will not work if temperatures are over 80 degrees centigrade (176 degrees Fahrenheit).

Where it is found

Castor beans are processed throughout the world to make castor oil. Ricin is part of the waste "mash" produced when castor oil is made.

Ricin has been used in experiments in medicine to kill cancer cells.

In the 1940s, the U.S. military experimented with using ricin as a possible warfare agent. In some reports, ricin has possibly been used as a warfare agent in the 1980s in Iraq. It is also that ricin has been used more recently by terrorist organizations.

How it works

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.

Eventually this is harmful to the whole body, and death may occur.

Signs and symptoms

The major symptoms of ricin poisoning depend on how much ricin someone was exposed to and how they were exposed. Many organs may be affected in severe cases.

Death could happen within 36 to 72, depending on how much ricin someone was exposed to and how they were exposed.

Effects of ricin poisoning depend on whether ricin was breathed in, swallowed, or injected.

Breathing in ricin

First symptoms of ricin poisoning by breathing in may occur as early as 4 to 8 hours. It may occur as late as 24 hours after exposure.

Within a few hours, the following may occur:

• Difficulty breathing
• Fever
• Cough
• Nausea
• Tightness in the chest

Eventually symptoms may worsen into:

• Heavy sweating
• Fluid buildup in the lungs making it harder to breathe
  • Diagnosed by x-ray or stethoscope
• Blue skin
• Low blood pressure
• Respiratory failure

All of these symptoms can lead to death.

If you know you have been exposed to ricin and have trouble breathing, seek medical care.

Swallowing ricin

If ricin is swallowed, first symptoms usually occur in less than 10 hours.

Symptoms include:

• Vomiting
• Diarrhea (maybe bloody)
• Severe dehydration
• Low blood pressure

Other signs or symptoms may include:

• Seizures
• Blood in the urine
• Liver, spleen, and kidney failure

These symptoms can lead to death.

Skin and eye exposure

Ricin is unlikely to be absorbed (taken in) through normal skin. Touching ricin powders or products may cause redness and pain on the skin and the eyes.

Exposure

Ricin poisoning is not contagious and accidental exposure is not likely. However, castor beans and ricin can be swallowed.

You can also be exposed if you come into contact with someone who has ricin on their body or clothes.

Ricin could be made into a partially purified material or into a terrorist or warfare agent. If that happens, ricin could be used to expose people through the air, food, or water.

In 1978, Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian writer and journalist who lived in London, died from ricin poisoning. He was attacked by a man with an umbrella. The umbrella was made to inject a poison ricin pellet under Markov's skin.

What to do if you are exposed

Evacuate or "shelter in place"

Get fresh air by leaving the area where the ricin is.

If ricin was released outside, move away from the area. If ricin was released indoors, get out of the building.

Take off your clothes

Take off the clothing as quickly as possible. Cut clothes off instead of pulling it over the head. If you are helping others, avoid touching unsafe areas.

Wash your body

Wash any ricin from your skin with lots of soap and water. Washing with soap and water will protect you from any chemicals on your body.

If your eyes are burning or your vision is blurred, rinse your eyes with plain water for 10 to 15 minutes.

If you wear contacts, remove them and put them with the dirty clothing. Do not put the contacts back in your eyes (even if they are not disposable contacts).

If you wear eyeglasses, wash them with soap and water. You can put your eyeglasses back on after you wash them.

Throw your clothes away

After you have washed yourself, place your clothing inside a plastic bag. Avoid touching unsafe areas of the clothing. If you can't avoid touching unsafe areas, or you aren't sure where the unsafe areas are, wear rubber gloves. You can also use tongs, tool handles, sticks, or similar objects to put the clothing in the bag.

Anything that touches the dirty clothing should also be placed in the bag. If you wear contacts, put them in the plastic bag, too.

Tie the bag, and then put that bag inside another plastic bag. Throwing away your clothes this way helps protect you and others from any chemicals that might be on your clothes.

When the local or state health department or emergency team arrive, tell them what you did with your clothes. The health department or emergency team will arrange for further disposal. Do not handle the plastic bags yourself.

Response by authorities

A clue of ricin poisoning is when lots of people who were close to each other have the same symptoms.

If authorities think ricin may have been spread, they will perform environmental tests. These tests will find ricin in powders or materials that are let out into the environment. People who live in these areas may also be looked at for signs of ricin poisoning.

The CDC can temporarily test samples for urinary ricinine. Urinary ricinine is an alkaloid (natural compounds with nitrogen) in the castor bean plant. Only urinary ricinine testing is available at CDC or the Laboratory Response Network (LRN).

Treatment

No cure exists for ricin. The most important thing to do is avoid ricin exposure in the first place. If you cannot avoid exposure, get the ricin off or out of the body as quickly as possible.

Patients showing symptoms of ricin poisoning are treated by giving patients supportive medical care to lower the effects of the poisoning. The types of supportive medical care depend on how the person was exposed (breathing in, swallowing, or skin or eye exposure).

Care could include the following:

• Helping people breathe
• Giving intravenous fluids (giving fluids to the vein using a needle)
• Giving medications to treat issues like seizure and low blood pressure
• Giving activated charcoal (if the ricin was very recently swallowed)
• Washing out their eyes with water if their eyes are irritated

More information

You can contact one of the following:

• Regional poison control center: 1-800-222-1222
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Response Hotline
  • Phone: 800-CDC-INFO
  • Teletypewriter (TTY): 888-232-6348
  • E-mail inquiries: cdcinfo@cdc.gov

Related links

Question and Answers About Ricin

CDC Ricin homepage

2013: FBI Response to Reports of Suspicious Letters Received at Mail Facilities