United States:  Bail Decision Expected Today for Ricin Suspect

A man accused of producing the potentially lethal biological agent ricin endangered more than 1,000 co-workers at Agilent Technologies in Washington state, a U.S. federal prosecutor said Monday (see GSN, June 21).

Agilent officials fired Kenneth Olsen almost a year ago after discovering evidence he was researching ricin on his office computer.  U.S. authorities arrested Olsen last Wednesday and charged him with knowingly producing a biological agent to use as a weapon.

Tests showed that ricin was present in some test tubes and bottles belonging to Olsen.  FBI agent Joseph Cleary testified that Olsen possessed a conversion table showing how much ricin would be necessary to kill a 150-pound person.

Olsen should remain in jail without bail because he poses a risk to the community and might try to flee, Assistant U.S. Attorney Earl Hicks said.  Prosecutors have suggested Olsen was planning to kill his wife with the ricin, but Olsen is not charged with attempting to kill his wife.

Olsen’s lawyer, John Clark, said Olsen should be set free, adding that Olsen never meant to hurt anyone.  Clark said Olsen might have possessed ricin in order to commit suicide.  Clark has also said that Olsen was researching the toxin for a Boy Scout project.

U.S. Magistrate Cynthia Imbrogno delayed ruling on the bail request until today (Nicholas Geranios, Associated Press, June 25).

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Japan:  Aum Shinrikyo Member Sentenced to Death for Multiple Murders

The Tokyo District Court sentenced a former top member of the Aum Shinrikyo cult to death today for his role in 26 murders, including the 1995 nerve gas attack in the Tokyo subway that killed 12 people (see GSN, May 23).

The court convicted Tomomitsu Niimi, who reportedly confessed to all charges except the subway attack.  Niimi plans to appeal the case, court official Hideyuki Ito said.

Japanese courts have sentenced nine cult members to death, but Japan has not carried out any of the sentences, according to the Associated Press.  The cult’s leader, Shoko Asahara, has been on trial since 1996.

Media reports have said the cult was developing chemical, biological and conventional weapons, and Japan’s Public Safety Agency has warned that the group — now called Aleph — is still a threat, according to the AP (Associated Press/New York Times, June 26).

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Uzbekistan:  Base Is Not Contaminated, U.S. Army Says

Initial tests showing the presence of chemical agents at the Khanabad military base in Uzbekistan were incorrect, a U.S. Army official said yesterday (see GSN, June 18).

“There is no chemical threat,” Col. Roger King said during a briefing at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

The Army Biological Chemical Command has completed intensive testing at the air base near Karshi in Uzbekistan and found no trace of chemical or biological weapons, King said.  The tests primarily found organic compounds, he added.  Lumber used in some of the base’s facilities could have led to earlier false positive results, King said, because some compounds that are used to treat lumber are similar to those in chemical weapons.

“Some of the compounds do share commonalities with some of the base compounds of chemical munitions, but again the detailed analysis shows no presence of chemical or biological munitions,” he said (Reuters/New York Times, June 23).

Officials are satisfied that there is no chemical threat to U.S. soldiers stationed at the base, King said.  It is still unknown whether, or when, troops will be allowed to return to the areas of the base where the traces were detected, he said (Associated Press/Yahoo.com, June 23).

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European Response:  Delegates to Create European Response System

International organizations and European members of the World Health Organization are creating a European system for responding to possible chemical weapons attacks, the Environment News Service reported Friday.

The WHO and other U.N. agencies met in Copenhagen earlier this month to hear testimony from experts in counterterrorism, poison control, emergency preparedness and national surveillance.  Delegates agreed to continue discussions through a permanent forum, and experts are now working to create an international scale to identify the severity of any chemical incident.

“We do not know when or if there will be a chemical attack, but we know, from our experience in handling other crises involving chemical accidents, that preparation saves time and saves lives,” said Roberto Bertollini, technical support director of the WHO European office.

Significant chemical incidents occur every month, according to Environment News Service.  There were 704 chemical incidents in the United Kingdom over the last six-month period for which figures exist, and three of those affected more than 50 people (Environment News Service, June 24).

For further information, see:

CDC List of Chemical Agents

Federation of American Scientists Information on Chemical Weapons

World Health Organization

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United States:  Umatilla Delays Chemical Weapons Destruction

The U.S. Army plans to delay incinerating chemical weapons at the Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon until May 2003 due to problems with the emissions monitoring system, the Associated Press reported Friday (see GSN, June 13).

Under an international treaty, the United States was supposed to begin destroying the weapons — including VX, sarin and mustard gas — in February 2003.  They are now scheduled to be destroyed by 2008.

Problems with the monitoring system have delayed test burns, which were originally set for May 25 and now are scheduled for July 24, according to Don Barclay, project manager for the Army’s chemical demilitarization program (Associated Press, June 21).

For further information, see:

CDC List of Chemical Agents

Federation of American Scientists Information on Chemical Weapons

CWC Text

Pentagon Executive Summary

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