Oh Dear, Oh Dear. It'll be lily of the valley, foxgloves and runner
beans next!



TERROR FEAR SEEDS TAKEN OFF SHELVES


14:00 - 13 January 2003

A leading garden centre has pulled its stock of castor oil seed from the
shelves amid fears they could be used in a terrorist attack.

Wyevale garden centres, which has a store in Siemens Way on Swansea
Enterprise Park, is no longer selling the seeds at any of its 124
centres across the country.

It follows the discovery of the deadly poison ricin, which can be made
from the seeds, in a north London flat.

Seven people have been arrested in London and are still being questioned
by police who are trying to establish if the men have links to the
al-Qaeda terrorist network.

Police are believed to be hunting a number of other suspects in
connection with the find with ports and airports being put on full
alert.

Ricin is a toxic material extracted from the beans of the castor oil
plant which can be fatal when inhaled, ingested or injected.

One to three castor beans chewed by a child, or just eight seeds chewed
by an adult can be fatal.

The equivalent weight to a single grain of salt - roughly 70 micrograms
or two millionths of an ounce - is enough to kill an adult.

Ricin is 6,000 times more poisonous per gram than cyanide. There is no
antidote but scientists are working on a vaccine.

A spokeswoman said Wyevale bosses believed that taking the beans off the
shelf was the logical response to the discovery in London.

"Our customers rely on us to provide a high quality service and we
believe this is the most responsible course of action for the company to
take," she said. While the exact nature of the initial symptoms can vary
from person to person, they include fever, stomach upsets and coughing.

It can be up to 24 hours before the first effects are seen and several
days before more serious problems develop.

Public health authorities have said people should not be alarmed.



--
Neil Jones- http://www.butterflyguy.com/
NOTE NEW WEB ADDRESS
"At some point I had to stand up and be counted. Who speaks for the
butterflies?" Andrew Lees - The quotation on his memorial at Crymlyn Bog
National Nature Reserve