Ricin-tainted letters received in Spokane

SANDPOINT — Postal officials in the Inland Northwest are on alert after two pieces of mail postmarked in Spokane contained material that preliminarily tests showed the presence of ricin.

Although ricin is a highly toxic and deadly even in trace amounts, the U.S. Postal Service issued a statement indicating the poison was in such a crude form that it does not appear to present a health risk to postal workers or others who may have come in contact with the suspect pieces of mail.

The Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating the matter.

The pieces of mail were postmarked on Tuesday. One piece was addressed to the Spokane post office, while the other was addressed to an unidentified federal judge in Spokane.

The postal service said further analysis is being conducted in specially-equipped public health laboratories and will update employees the test results become available.

“We have no reason to believe that any employees are at risk from the handling the suspect letters as they passed through the mailstream in Spokane. The substance involved was not in a form that could be inhaled or otherwise ingested,” reads a memo being distributed to regional postal facilities, including the Sandpoint post office.

Ernie Swanson, the postal service’s regional spokesman in Seattle, had no comment and forwarded a statement from the postal service indicating that the piece of mail addressed to the post office included an articulated bomb threat. The suspicious package received by the judge was determined not to be a hazard.

“The Postal Inspection Service is working with appropriate health and law enforcement agencies on this incident. We have no reports of other such letters in the mail,” the statement said.

Ayn Dietrich, an FBI spokeswoman in Seattle, said there was little she could discuss due to the pending investigation.

“While we cannot offer further comment on this incident, we stress that law enforcement agencies will continue to assess and address the full spectrum of potential threats,” Dietrich said in a statement.

Becky Rothaermel, Sandpoint’s postmaster, said the safety of postal workers and the public are of paramount importance.

“They come first and foremost,” she said.