Open email to Congress:
Ricin is a
poison. It has been in the recent news, because ricin-laced letters have been
mailed to various politicians, including Pres. Barack Obama. Chemical and
Engineering News has a good two-page article on the ricin poisoning attempt in
its May 20th issue.
That article quotes David a Sanders, a Purdue
University structural biologist.
Dr. Sanders says he hopes the recent
scare will not result in a call from Congress or other officials to ramp up
ricin research. It is an agent scientists know a lot about, he says and the
recent poisoning attempts don't justify spending money and talent to learn more
about it. Besides he says when research programs on deadly agents are expanded,
one result is to increase the number of people who are expert in producing
weapons-grade agents.
I ask Congress to pay attention to what Dr. Sanders
has had to say. Stay out of it. You can't accomplish anything, and you have much
more important things to do. Trust the FBI to handle your protection. It has
competency in this area.
About Me
- Arthur
- I am a Ph.D. chemist from Cornell University. I was raised on Long Island, NY, and entered the wonderful world of chemistry at Central High School. I later graduated from Grove city College with a BS in Chemistry and Metallurgy and started graduate work at Cornell University. This was interrupted by the World War II effort, during which I was assigned to the Special Engineering Detachment at Oak Ridge Tennessee which was part of the secret Manhattan Project to develop an atomic bomb. After the war, I completed my graduate work at Cornell and began employment with the Rohm & Haas Company of Philadelphia in their Development Laboratory. Subsequent assignments were Field Sales, Sales Manager of the Italian subsidiary, International Marketing Manager, and Technology Transfer Manager. After retirement, I moved to Lubbock, TX, where I became involved in volunteer work at the Grammar School Level in Reading and High School and University Chemistry Laboratories. I am presently Emeritus Director of Environmental Compliance at Lubbock Christian University.
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