A university student in the United States has been charged with possessing a potentially lethal amount of the powerful toxin ricin, court documents show.
Daniel Harry Milzman, from Georgetown University in Washington, told the FBI this week he produced the ricin himself in his dormitory room about a month ago, having bought the precursor materials in local stores.
He wore goggles and a dust mask when he was extracting the ricin, according to the court documents, which said he had produced 123 milligrams and stored the material in a plastic bag secured with tape.
The concentration of the ricin was such that it could have been deadly if inhaled, the documents said, adding that Milzman had told his residential adviser on Monday that he had created the poison and showed the adviser the plastic bag.
He was interviewed by FBI agents the next day.
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It was not immediately clear what the student intended to do with the substance.
But FBI Washington spokeswoman Jacqueline Maguire told AFP that "based on investigation, we do not believe there is any connection to terrorism".
