University of Texas Ricin Scare Update

The substance that initially tested positive for ricin has been examined and determined that it wasn't the deadly poison:

mysterious powder that set off a ricin scare at the University of Texas campus likely will remain a mystery, FBI officials said late Monday.

The coarse powder, which a UT student from Pearland found in a roll of quarters Thursday while doing laundry, prompted an FBI investigation after state lab results came back positive for the deadly toxin. But testing at a federal lab in Maryland showed the powder did not contain ricin.

The FBI announced Monday that it had closed its investigation without determining what the powder was.

"It's not what it was. It's what it's not that's important," said FBI Special Agent Rene Salinas.

Meanwhile, UT officials acknowledged some kinks in communication, both within the university and with law enforcement agencies, that may have complicated the situation and increased anxiety.

Bob Harkins, associate vice president for campus safety and security, said in a news conference that university staff had some old cell phone numbers for each other and some outdated contacts for agencies that are being updated.

Once again, the question of communications in a crisis rears its ugly head. Enterprises large and small need to be sure that their communications are up-to-date to deal with potential emergencies, and yet we've repeatedly seen this is not the case. UT police admit that they could have done a better job. Now let us hope that they actually make changes so that they're better prepared going forward.