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• Tuesday, August 5, 2008 10:49 AM

  Blow me, Sean

  The phrase quickly convert wet germ cultures into dry spores is absolutely false. The wet germ cultures contains multiple components, the feeder cells to the anthrax bacilli, the anthrax bacilli, and the anthrax spores. These components must be separated with large centrifuges, which are not mentioned. The isolated spores would would have to be dried and milled. All of this would have to have been done in a "Level 3" containment facility. It could not have been done in a normal home.

  Not from what I've read.

  Have at it.

  http://ejm.yyu.edu.tr/old/2004-1/13-16.pdf

  Fun Facts about Anthrax:

  The Ames Strain is not from Ames, Iowa at all. It's really from a dead cow from Texas infected with the Ames Strain.

  http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/bioter/anthraxamesnotiowa.html

  Anthrax: The Development of a Biological Weapon

  Research on the use of anthrax as a weapon dates back 80 years 8. Today, at least 17 nations are believed to have offensive biological weapons programs; but it is uncertain how many are working with anthrax 9. Highlights in the development of anthrax as a weapon follow:

  » The first recorded use of anthrax as a weapon was in 1915. German agents in the U.S. injected horses, mules and cattle being shipped to Europe with the anthrax bacterium.

  » In 1937, Japan began a biological warfare program in Manchuria, including tests involving anthrax.

  » In 1942, the United Kingdom experimented with methods to distribute anthrax spores, off the coast of Scotland at Gruinard Island. These spores persisted and remained theoretically capable of infection for decades afterwards. A subsequent decontamination effort, took nearly 10 years to clean up the island.

  » The United States began developing anthrax as a biological weapon in 1943.

  » In 1969, President Nixon declared an end to the U.S.’ offensive biological weapons program, while keeping the defensive work in operation.

  » In 1970, a World Health Organization (WHO) expert committee estimated that there could be 100,000 casualties following a theoretical aircraft release of 50 kg of anthrax over a developed urban population of 5 million 10.

  » In 1972, the development and stockpiling of biological weapons is outlawed by the International Biological Weapons Convention.

  » In May of 1979, aerosolized anthrax spores were accidentally released at a Soviet Union military research facility in Sverdlovsk resulting in one of the most deadly anthrax epidemics known. There were 96 victims in all; seventeen had skin infections and survived, seventy-nine had intestinal infections; of these, 64 died. This outbreak demonstrated the potential deadly power of an anthrax aerosol. Anthrax aerosol is odorless and invisible following release and has the potential to travel many kilometers before disseminating 8, 12 . Evidence suggests that following an outdoor aerosol release, persons indoors could be exposed to a similar threat as those outdoors 13.

  » In the early 1980’s, the Army acquired a strain of anthrax known as the "Ames strain" as part of a national search for different types of anthrax to use in testing vaccines. The strain is known to be highly virulent and was identical to the strain used in the 2001 attacks in the U.S.

  » In 1991, prior to the Persian Gulf War, it was suspected that Iraq had researched anthrax and other biological weapons and had those biological weapons in their arsenal. As a countermeasure, U.S. troops were vaccinated against anthrax before the war.

  » An economic model developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggested a cost of $26.2 billion to treat 100, 000 people exposed to anthrax 14.

  » In Japan, the terrorist group Aum Shinrikyo, known for their release of sarin, a type of nerve gas, in a Tokyo, Japan, subway station in 1995, dispersed aerosols of anthrax throughout Tokyo on at least 8 occasions. It is not known why, but this exposure did not cause any illness 15.

  » In 1995, Iraq admitted to producing 8,500 liters of concentrated anthrax as part of biological weapons program 16.

  » Shortly after the attacks of September 11, a series of letters were mailed anonymously to several news media companies and government officials in the United States. The letters contained a high-grade, finely textured version of anthrax later identified as identical to the Ames strain. An epidemic ensued in which 22 individuals were sickened by the anthrax bacteria. Five people died from inhalation anthrax.

  http://www.gwu.edu/~cih/anthraxinfo/public/publicthreat_history.htm

  —L.W.M. Read L.W.M.'s other letters
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