Ricin scare in the Senate

Washington, D.C.

Three Senate office buildings were shut down this week after white powder found in a mailroom tested positive for ricin, a deadly poison. The mailroom is attached to the offices of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. Although several field tests detected ricin, which has no known antidote, security officials said they could not be sure what was in the powder until it was analyzed in an Army lab. No one fell sick—ricin causes severe breathing problems, fever, and nausea—but dozens underwent a decontamination procedure as a precaution. “I’m not particularly worried,” said Joseph Zogby, 34, counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee. “But maybe I should be.”

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