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| Britain |
| Very Nasty’ |
| 2004-04-06 |
| Potential Bomb Plot Involved Deadly Chemical British authorities believe terror suspects arrested last week were planning to make a bomb that would include a highly toxic, easily obtained chemical called osmium tetroxide, ABCNEWS has learned. Used primarily in laboratories for research, osmium tetroxide is known to attack soft human tissue and could blind or kill anyone who breathed its fumes. According to the New Jersey Department of Health, it is a colorless to pale yellow solid with a strong, unpleasant odor. "It’s a nasty piece of work," said Dave Siegrist, a bioterrorism expert at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies in Arlington, Va. "It irritates the eyes, lungs, nose and throat. It leads to an asthma-like death, what we call a ’dry-land drowning.’ " Scientists say if, for example, the bomb used in the 1993 World Trade Center attack had produced such fumes, they would have wiped out the first police and rescue workers on the scene. "They become overwhelmed by fumes," said Jerry Hauer, an expert on biological and chemical terrorism and director of public health preparedness at the Department of Health and Human Services, describing what could have happened. "They can go blind. This is not a benign chemical. It is very nasty." Eight British citizens of Pakistani descent were arrested and taken into custody when 700 police raided 24 locations in and around London on March 30. Investigators say British authorities moved in when they learned from electronic intercepts the dangerous chemical was involved in the plot. They had been the tracking group’s activities for several months. According to sources, there was some indication the group in custody was targeting Gatwick airport, the British public transportation system and enclosed shopping areas. British authorities feared it had the potential to be one of the worst attacks ever against the United Kingdom. Even though the arrests were made in the United Kingdom, authorities say the operation was being run out of Pakistan by a suspected al Qaeda figure. "They are creative in their planning," said Hauer. "They continue to work around our systems." This is the first time osmium tetroxide has been linked to possible terror use. It’s sold, with few questions asked, on Internet sites, as are many industrial chemicals that could be equally as potent. You never see the supplier and the supplier never sees you. A package arrives on the doorstep a few days later." U.S. officials say the likelihood of a chemical bomb is much greater than a biological and radiological one. Yet the United States has still not settled how to tighten restrictions on what are known as toxic industrial chemicals, which are well-known to al Qaeda bomb-makers and still easily available. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #12 NMM, I live in Fort Wayne. The nearest subway is in Chicago. BTW, what did the Bush administration have to do with the gas attack in the Tokyo subway? I thought that was a bunch of millennium kooks. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-04-07 12:26:01 AM |
| #11 Coming soon to a subway near you--courtesy of the Bush Administration |
| Posted by: Not Mike Moore 2004-04-07 12:10:12 AM |
| #10 I guess I just find it odd that such an obscure and expensive chemical would be used in a crude fertiliser bomb. My first thought was that it might be mixed sparingly into the fertiliser to act as a catalyst to boost the explosive reaction, but my chemistry doesn't stretch quite that far. Gas attacks with it are possible, but it is fearsomely expensive stuff, and you'd probably need quite a bit (ref Tokyo subway attacks). |
| Posted by: Lux 2004-04-06 3:21:46 PM |
| #9 It might be worth running a computer or actual simulation of some scenarios to identify some measures to isolate any gas. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-04-06 2:43:15 PM |
| #8 In an enclosed space like the tube, there is a chance that they intended to burn or vaporize the chemicals rather than exploding them. A gas attack in an enclosed space will be especially devastating depending on whether the recirculation vent fans shutdown automatically or can be shutdown quickly by manual operation. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-04-06 2:41:00 PM |
| #7 I still can't see the danger of Fosters being aerosolized. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-04-06 12:00:15 PM |
| #6 Look up Derek Lowe's website. He's an organic chemist, and has an article on the effects of OsO4. |
| Posted by: Eric Jablow 2004-04-06 11:58:43 AM |
| #5 Lux, IIRC the engineering problem with any chemical munition is to gauge the size of the bursting charge so that it aerosolizes the agent, doesn't oxidize it, and spreads it adequately. Those are the design tradeoffs. |
| Posted by: 11A5S 2004-04-06 11:26:26 AM |
| #4 Any chemists out there? Not to downplay the seriousness of this plot, but wouldn't Osmium Tetraoxide (an oxidizer) be reduced in any explosion to Osmium Dioxide? Osmium Dioxide isn't water soluble. - meaning it would have a harder time entering the body. |
| Posted by: Lux 2004-04-06 10:08:00 AM |
| #3 Mike - Many in the UK are beginning to come round to this view. Even moderate Muslims are beginning to worry that they'll 'get it in the neck' but show no signs of being able to calm their more extreme brethren and no sign of being truly sincere about irradicating the threat they pose. I say we execute the boomers for treason or at least offer them the opportunity to commit suicide, with osmium tetroxide. |
| Posted by: Howard UK 2004-04-06 8:13:56 AM |
| #2 Eight British citizens of Pakistani descent were arrested and taken into custody If they wanted to live as vicious primitive Moslems, they should have emigrated back to Pakistan, where they would have felt at home. Since they insisted on living like that in the UK, they will have to do so in prison. . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-04-06 7:35:26 AM |
| #1 U.S. officials say the likelihood of a chemical bomb is much greater than a biological and radiological one. Yet the United States has still not settled how to tighten restrictions on what are known as toxic industrial chemicals, which are well-known to al Qaeda bomb-makers and still easily available. I don't think you can ever afford to adopt a passive defensive posture with respect to terrorist attacks. If you consistently attack both domestically and internationally, you remain vulnerable to only Muhhamed/Malvo teams or the Richard Reids. It should also be your goal to become a very hard target and a country know for unflinching reprisals, so that the terrorists have a better chance of success against oterh more attractive quarry. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-04-06 3:05:17 AM |