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>> that's why i think it's important -- context is important. this isn't fluffy stuff that if it floats through the room, it's going to kill people. it sounds like crushed up caster beans. i don't understand why the secret service -- this isn't for you but the secret service clearly knows, investigation under way. of course there is. but the secret service knows if this could have killed the president. they won't tell us anything. that creates fear where maybe fear isn't -- maybe it's not the right time. >> i know what you're saying. there are a lot of hoax letters we don't know about. they do...

They'll also look at the forensics. they'll try to determine whether or not on the envelope or on the letter is there hair? is there saliva samples? there are fingerprints? one of the reasons i think you see the joint terrorism task force is investigating this, is because that's where the federal government coordinates with state and locals and pulls all the federal resources together. including cia and other intelligence resources to help them understand what is this against the mayor? >> how hard is it to get hold of ricin and how difficult is it to weaponize it? turn it into a weapon? >> it...

Determine the, who you'll be able to understand the why. >> how dangerous is this stuff, ricin? >> it can be very dangerous, it's a potentially toxic substance. a couple things that are important to note is that in and of itself, this is a poison that comes from caster beans as a lot of people know, you can get that ricin, the poisonous substance out of the caster beans without a lot of difficulty. the challenge is to surn that into something that can get into the lungs and make someone sick or even kill them. that's a much more difficult thing to do, which i think what you're alluding to, ric...

Was mixed. they'll analyze whether the two letters, whether it was from the same batch of the mixture of the compound of ricin. all those things will help investigators lead down the path to who. and once you determine the who, you'll be able to understand the why. >> right. so, how dangerous is this stuff, ricin? >> well, it can be very dangerous. it's a very potentially toxic substance. a couple of things that are important to note is that in and of itself, this is a poison that comes from caster beans, as a lot of people know, and you can get that ricin, that poisonous substance out of cast...

It can happen, but again, based on what deb is describing, this sort of oilier substance as opposed to these very small, almost granular spore-type things, it sounds unlikely. >> fran, in the world of, you know, terror and people who follow and track this stuff, how high is ricin on the list of things people are concerned about? i mean, is it difficult to obtain? is it difficult to break down and weaponize, as you say? >> well, the component pieces to a ricin compound are actually readily available. sanjay mentioned caster beans. that's the basic component and you crush it down and you grind i...