The Chemical Threat: An Easier, but Less Deadly, Recipe for Terror

(Washington Post) - Joby Warrick Last year, Texas gun enthusiast William Krar legally purchased materials to make a highly lethal gas called hydrogen cyanide, which he stored at home. Krar might have killed hundreds of people, but a botched package delivery exposed his plans and led to his arrest. Weapons experts describe a widespread availability of raw materials for chemical terrorism, leading them to believe the odds for a chemical attack are relatively high, compared with biological or nuclear terrorism. "A crude chemical attack is within the reach of any reasonably professional terrorist group," said Jeffrey Bale, a senior researcher at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, Calif. Somewhat comforting, experts say, is the fact that assembling and dispersing deadly chemicals remain complicated and dangerous for amateurs.


2004-12-31 00:00:00

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