Small Amount of Ricin in U.S. Senate Incident Hinders Investigation

Investigators have not been able to learn much about the ricin found last week in the office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) because of the small amount of material recovered, several federal agencies said yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 9).

So far, investigators have been unable to determine the size of the ricin particles, the strength of the material or how long it laid on a letter-opening machine in Frist’s mailroom, law enforcement and military sources said. Investigators attempted to recover more of the ricin from the machine by using a forensic vacuum, but were unsuccessful, an official said (Hsu/Lengel, Washington Post, Feb. 10).

If insufficient amounts of ricin are found to conduct testing, “that will probably impede the investigation somewhat,” Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said today in a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing.

As of now, Ridge said, “It’s an ongoing investigation,” adding, “We still have no idea who may have been responsible for it” (Joe Fiorill, GSN, Feb. 10).

The Dirksen Senate Office Building, where Frist’s office is located, reopened yesterday (Associated Press/Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb. 10).

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