Univ of Texas "Ricin" found to be harmless

[NYSmokey]

Realizing that no field test is 100% accurate, this was all over the news since Thursday. Took our minds off of other important news events though didn't it?

FBI: Powder Found in Texas Dorm Not Ricin

AUSTIN - The FBI determined a powdery substance found in a roll of quarters at a University of Texas dormitory was not ricin after initial state tests had indicated it was the potentially deadly poison, a spokesman said Sunday.

The FBI tests did not identify the substance, but they came back negative for the poison that is extracted from castor beans, said San Antonio FBI spokesman Rene Salinas.

"There were no proteins in there to indicate it was in fact ricin," Salinas said. He said was unlikely further testing would be done.

Texas health officials did "just a quick test and they don't check for the proteins in ricin," Salinas said.

The mystery powder spilled onto Kelly Heinbaugh's hands as she unwrapped a roll of quarters in her dorm room on Thursday. She said she'd used five other rolls of quarters her mother had gotten from the same bank and none had powder in them.

The a 19-year-old freshman and her roommate were both evaluated for possible exposure to ricin and cleared at a hospital.

Roughly 400 residents of the Moore-Hill dormitory were evacuated Friday night while hazardous materials crews sanitized the area where the substance was found.

Salinas said it was unclear whether the FBI would continue its investigation into how the substance ended up with the coins.

If it was put there as a joke, Salinas said "it was an extremely bad joke."

[E229Lt]

Man, talk about misleading Headlines:

Univ of Texas "Ricin" found to be harmless

I opened this one thinking UT decided Ricin was a harmless agent.


Never mind.

[NYSmokey]

Man, talk about misleading Headlines:

Univ of Texas "Ricin" found to be harmless

I opened this one thinking UT decided Ricin was a harmless agent.


Never mind.

Sorry about that. I changed the title so that it wouldn't be misleading anymore.

WEBTEAM can you please change the title on this thread to read University of Texas incident powder NOT ricin?

If there's a way to change the title of the thread, I haven't figured that out yet

[GeorgeWendtCFI]

When I was running one of our 350 plus "anthrax" calls in 2001, one of the tools we were provided with was a field test similar to a field test for cocaine or heroin. It turned colors when the substance was anthrax-or one of a dozen substances that would also test positive.

We hooked up with a PhD in public health who helped us out with a microscope. Then he trained us on the what anthrax would look like. Spores not crystals. Then we developed a procedure to take a small sample on a slide, decon the slide and get it to the microscope. It was the best screening tool we had for anthrax. You can't get all excited about those field tests.