Homeland Security officials say the government will improve its written procedures and coordination with local agencies, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham told The Green-ville News.

Some officials involved in the handling of the ricin discovered at a regional mail facility in Greenville did not understand guidelines for responding to potential acts of bioterrorism, said Graham, R-S.C.

"It showed a lack of protocol, lack of evidentiary protocol from the law enforcement side and a breakdown in informing the public and the work force about potential exposures," he said.

Officials said investigators weren't called for almost 11 hours after ricin was discovered Oct. 15 at the postal distribution center that serves the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport. The public and local emergency and health officials weren't informed of the potential threat until seven days after it was found.

Officials also told the newspaper that the deputy who responded to the call did not know what ricin was, even though it is on the federal government's list of potential bioterrorism threats.

The postal center, which processes as many as 20,000 pieces a mail a day for distribution across the United States, remained in operation for a week after the discovery.

The ricin was in a vial that was clearly marked as containing the deadly poison and was in a package that contained a threatening note.

The federal government did not test the vial until almost a week after its discovery , officials said.

"Looking back, it just wasn't done in a way that you would like for the system as a whole," Graham said. "All I can say is a lot of this we're just learning by doing. I'm hopeful that this will be an experience that makes the system better."

Although postal service spokes-man Jerry McKiernan said the agency acted appropriately, he said federal agencies are trying to improve coordination.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced earlier this year that ricin, a substance more deadly than nerve gas, was a potential tool for terrorists. Although no one was hurt from the ricin, experts and residents have said the government's response exposed weaknesses in the nation's system for handling a bioterrorism event.

Many of the agencies involved have denied they mishandled their response. Postal officials and those with the U.S. Department of Homeland Defense said they couldn't discuss the incident in detail because it remains an active criminal investigation.

"We learned a lot about coordinating communications on the federal level and with the state," Homeland Security spokesman Larry Jackson said, declining to elaborate.

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