On Tue, 17 Sep 1996, Adamsc wrote:

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On Thu, 12 Sep 1996 12:03:18 -0700, Bill Frantz wrote:

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... former CIA director James Woolsey: responded with some seemingly gratuitous anti-Net rhetoric. Terrorists may use biological weapons like anthrax, he said. "Anthrax is colorless, odorless, and has a 90 percent lethality. One gram has 100 million lethal doses." Then Woolsey delivered the zinger: "The knowledge of how to make anthrax is widely available, including on the Internet."

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Gee, biotech has come a long way. Now I can download the Anthrax DNA sequence from the net and insert it in some carrier bacteria and start making Anthrax bacteria. Neat!

Culturing and growing anthrax is painfully simple. No DNA required.

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BTW - My dictionary says that Anthrax is primarily an animal disease which only occasionally infects humans. It sounds like a poor choice for bio-war terror.

Incorrect. It is highly problematic and very nasty when it is properly delivered. The hardest thing about anthrax is to get an areosol fine enough to present an inhalation risk. (This is why it does not generally cause problems in humans- it's rare for it to get this fine).

Why not learn from the pros: IRAQI BIOLOGICAL WARFARE [BW) DEVELOPMENTS Filename:0119pgv.00p [ (b)(2) ] [ (b)(2) ] SUBJ: IRAQI BIOLOGICAL WARFARE [BW) DEVELOPMENTS 1. [ (b)(1) sec 1.3(a)(4) ] IRAQ ACQUIRED FORTY HIGH PERFORMANCE AEROSOL GENERATORS IN THE SPRING OF' 1990 OSTENSIBLY FOR SPRAYING CROPS WITH PESTICIDES. THE GENERATORS WERE CUSTOM BUILT TO DELIVER EITHER LIQUID OR DRY MATERIAL EITHER SIGNLY OR SIMULTANEOUSLY. THE GENERATORS CAN DISTRIBUTE FIFTY LITERS PER MINUTE [3-,0O0 LITERS PER HOUR OR APPROXIMATELY 800 GALLONS PER HOUR) THROUGH A CUSTOM DESIGNED NOZZLE[S] WHICH PERMITS THE AEROSOL TO BE ADJUSTED TO TEN DIFFERENT PARTICLE SIZES. THE DISSEMINATION OUTLET CAN BE ROTATED ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY DEGREES THEREBY ENABLING DISSEMINATION HORIZONTAL TO GROUND OR WATER SURFACES, OR UPWARDS AT AN ANGLE PERMITTING PREVAILING WINDS TO CARRY THE AEROSOL. THE IRAQI ENTITY WHICH ACQUIRED THE AEROSOL GENERATORS IS NOT KNOWN AT THIS TIME BUT COULD VERY WELL BE CONNECTED TO THE IRAQI BIOLOGICAL [ (b)(2) ] WARFARE BW PROGRAM. 2. THE AEROSOL GENERATORS ARE OF SUCH--SIZE TO FIT ON THE BACK OF A PICKUP TRUCK OR A SMALL ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLE, A SMALL BOAT, OR SMALL AIRCRAFT. THESE UNITS WOULD BE SUITABLE FOR THE DISPERSAL OF BW AGENTS IN EITHER LIQUID OR DRY FORM. THE ABILITY TO DISPENSE SIMULTANEOUSLY TWO BW AGENTS AT THE SAME TIME. SUCH UNITS, HOWEVER, WOULD THEMSELVES BECOME HEAVILY CONTAMINATED DURING USE AND WOULD REQUIRE DECONTAMINATION TO RENDER THEM SAFE. PERSONNEL OPERATING SUCH UNITS WOULD AT A MINIMUM NEED TO WEAR A PROTECTIVE OVERGARMENT A CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WARFARE MASK, AND UNDERGO THOROUGH DECONTAMINATION AFTER DISPENSING THE AGENT(S) . DECONTAMINATION OF THE AEROSOL GENERATORS AND TRANSPORT VEHICLES WOULD LIKELY HAVE TO ACCUR NEAR THE AREA OF OPERATION AT REMOTE LOCATIONS SO AS TO MININIZE INCIDENTAL CONTAMINATION OF IRAQI FORCES. 3. THE IRAQIS HAVE TWO CONFIRMED BW AGENTS--ANTHRAX AND BOTULINUM TOXIN. ANTHRAX CAN BE4 DISSEMINATED BY AEROSOL GENRATORS EITHER AS A FREEZE-DRIED POWDER OR AS A LIQUID SUSPENSION. THEORETICALLY BOTULINIUM TOXIN CAN BE DISPENSED AS EITHER A FREZE-DRIED POWDER, PROBABLY IN COMBINATION WITH A FILLER, OR AS A LIQUID. THE MORE LIKELY OF THE TWO CHOICES FOR BOTULINUM TOXIN IS DISSEMINATION AS A POWDER. POWDERS ARE EASILY MIXED WITH FILLERS, POSE A CONSIDERABLY GREATER THREAT THROUGH INHALATION, AND ARE BETTER ABLE TO WITHSTAND THE SHEAR FORCES EXPERIENCED WHEN DISSEMINATED THROUGH NOZZLES WITH A RELATIVELY SMALL ORIFICE. PGP Fingerprint: FE 90 1A 95 9D EA 8D 61 81 2E CC A9 A4 4A FB A9 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Snoop Daty Data | Internet: azur@netcom.com Grinder | Voice: 1-702-655-2877 Sacred Cow Meat Co. | Fax: 1-702-658-2673 7075 W. Gowan Road, #2148 | Las Vegas, NV 89129 | --------------------------------------------------------------------- Just say NO to perscription DRUGS.