Ricin probe 'moving along,' FBI says

e-mail this story Related Online extra • Frequently asked questions (FAQ) • What do you think of how officials handled the ricin threat?

Ed Cogswell, a spokesman for the FBI's headquarters in Washington, said agents have interviewed postal workers but would not say if they had talked to truckers or if they believe the sender of the poison was a local resident.

"We're moving along," he said.

A postal worker spotted the package, which lacked a postmark or an address, in the early morning hours of Oct. 15. On the outside of the package were the words "caution-Ricin-poison," according to the Greenville County Sheriff's Office.

The discovery triggered state and national terrorism investigations because of the poison, which federal officials earlier this year announced could be used by terrorists.

However, officials quickly characterized the package as an extortion attempt because of the note left with the poison, which threatened the use of the poison unless a trucking regulation was repealed concerning how much sleep truckers must get.

No illness has been reported as a result of the poison and testing of the postal center off Pelham Road found no contamination. The facility is used to sort mail coming to and going out of Greenville by plane.

The FBI is leading the investigation, assisted by the state's Joint Terrorism Task Force, the State Law Enforcement Division and the Greenville County Sheriff's Office.

Officials also said Wednesday that the state Department of Health and Environmental Control has been approved by federal health officials to begin running its own tests for ricin, possibly eliminating any future delays in telling law enforcement and the public if a package contains the poison.

South Carolina, like many states, has been dependent on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta to conduct tests for ricin. Officials have said the week-long delay in telling the public about the poison found in Greenville occurred because it took a week to get the test results.

Thom Berry, a spokesman for DHEC, said states were invited in September to apply for authority to test. He said the state applied and its labs were inspected Oct. 23, the day after the ricin discovery was announced to the public. He said DHEC is waiting on chemicals to conduct the tests.

CDC spokesman Von Roebuck said 49 laboratories nationwide are authorized to test for the poison. He said he did not know how many states are represented in the 49 labs.

"I think when you have the ability to test, or in the case of a public health lab, to expand its capabilities, it helps," he said.

He said another type of test would soon be made available for ricin that is easier and quicker to conduct.

U.S. 4th District Rep. Jim DeMint and others have expressed frustration that the state couldn't test the substance and get the news out much faster.

Berry said DHEC tries to test any suspicious package before sending it to CDC to avoid "inundating" the federal agency with samples.