Published: July 02, 2008 12:21 am            

Ricin scare at prison false alarm

Somerset — Twelve employees of the United States Penitentiary in McCreary County were decontaminated and “watched for symptoms” of poisoning yesterday after a scare reminiscent of the days following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Buddy Rogers, public information officer for the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management, said a “suspicious white powdery substance” had been discovered in the mailroom of the prison Tuesday morning.

The substance was found in an envelope which was addressed to a former inmate of the federal penitentiary.

By the end of the evening, officials had determined that the substance was not toxic — but there appeared to be plenty of cause for alarm throughout the day as HAZMAT teams appeared on the scene in Level B “moonsuits” to decontaminate the area and the individuals who were exposed.

“Two people have shown symptoms which may or may not be affiliated with exposure to a toxic substance,” Rogers said late yesterday afternoon.

Those two individuals — both guards at the prison, according to Special Response Team Chief Doug Baker — were transported to Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital.

Rogers said the two guards were experiencing tightness in their chests and shortness of breath. Those symptoms, however, could also be indicators of stress, Rogers added.

Baker also speculated that the heat could have caused the guards’ symptoms.

“We don’t want to rule anything out,” Rogers said.

“They’ll be watched and treated (at the hospital).”

Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital took steps yesterday afternoon to prepare for “an influx of patients” should the need arise, according to LCRH spokesperson Susan Wilson.

Access to the hospital was limited to patients and their visitors for much of the afternoon and evening while hospital officials awaited word on whether there would be more patients or whether the substance found in the facility was actually ricin.

The two guards arrived and were admitted to the hospital a little after 8 p.m.

Rogers explained that “a window for symptoms” exists — a timeframe in which severe symptoms should set in if an individual has been exposed to certain types of toxins — and that the guards’ symptoms, which were not severe, did not appear until six hours or more after exposure.

Late last night, Rogers said the individuals were “stable” at the Somerset hospital, and that their symptoms had not increased.

Early yesterday evening, the Division of Emergency Management was not willing to say what the powdery substance might have been.

“There are several options,” Rogers said, adding that it could be any of several “toxic types of powders.”

“But hopefully it’s not anything,” he said.

“There is no threat to the general public nor to the facility,” Rogers assured yesterday evening.

“Everyone is safe at this point, and there is no additional risk.”

No inmates were exposed to the substance.

Most toxic substances must be inhaled, ingested, or injected in order to have an effect on an individual. Rogers said any remnants of the substance which could have become airborne would have been washed off the individuals when they were decontaminated.

Because the prison is a federal facility, the FBI was called in to take charge of the scene. The state emergency management division, HAZMAT teams 11 and 12 from Laurel and Pulaski counties, and the Kentucky Fire Marshal also worked on site throughout the day. The state Emergency Operations Center in Frankfort was also activated and maintained situational awareness and functional support during the ordeal.

Baker said his crew was called to assist McCreary County officials in an investigation into the discovery of the substance yesterday morning.

The HAZMAT teams collected samples of the substance, which were flown by Blackhawk helicopter to the state Public Health Laboratory in Frankfort for further identification around 5:30 p.m. yesterday.

During a field test with a bio-chemical warfare testing kit, a positive result turned up, Baker said, prompting the team to investigate further.

Baker would not say what substance the positive test indicated.

“It was only an initial test,” he said.

“Out of three tests we ran, one came back positive. ... With a field test, you can’t determine anything 100 percent. But we decided to proceed with caution and go farther with it.”

When asked whether the substance could have been ricin, a poison which could cause death within three days, Baker had no comment. Rumors had circulated early on that the substance could be ricin.

The substance underwent a series of tests throughout the evening.

A repeat of the same test which had been conducted on the site produced negative results in the Frankfort laboratory yesterday evening — an early indication that there might not be cause for alarm.

By 11 p.m., the Division of Emergency Management had determined that two out of three tests proved negative for any toxins.

“The last test should be completed in a few more hours,” Rogers said shortly before 11 p.m.

“We are confident in saying that it is nothing toxic,” he said, adding that authorities still don’t know — and may never know — what the substance actually was.

Final test results would not be available until after midnight, but the tests already completed were highly reliable, according to state Public Health Commissioner Dr. William D. Hacker.

“I want to assure members of the general public, and particularly in this community, that the preliminary testing indicates no threat from this substance,” Dr. Hacker said.

“The local, state and federal response to this event has been cooperative and timely."

Rogers initially said a criminal investigation would be underway, but late last night he said he couldn’t speculate on whether the FBI would pursue an investigation.

Wilson said the code yellow carried out by LCRH – which is often carried out in the event of probable numerous incoming patients – was done so quickly and smoothly.

“Our response (to the possible threat) was to take the necessary precautions and prepare for the eventual arrival of the patients,” Wilson said. “And we did.”

Wilson said physicians and staff prepared to handle the symptoms of possible ricin poisoning were on standby throughout the afternoon and evening, and several beds were vacated to ensure that any other patients arriving from the facility would get care.

She also said even though two out of the three tests came back negative for toxin, she was proud of the way the hospital functioned.

“We are all very pleased and relieved that the situation wasn’t as serious as we first thought,” Wilson said.

Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers’ office was contacted for comment earlier in the day. Rogers is a leading figure in U.S. government in the area of homeland security

A spokesman for Congressman Rogers said that the Fifth District republican’s office was “continuing to monitor the situation” and was pleased that the authorities — who have benefited from a number of homeland security funding projects pushed by Rogers over the year — were on site doing their job.

The McCreary penitentiary opened in 2004 with medium-security inmates and recently completed a transition to a high-security institution with more than 1,200 currently lodged.

        

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