USPS criticized for ricin threat

A union representative of the United States Postal Service says the dangerous and almost deadly ricin incident was not taken seriously enough. According to the union, workers were not immediately warned about the presence of ricin in the mail, and instead had to rely on news reports to find out about the letter sent to Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker.

The Postal Service claimed a meeting was held Tuesday evening to debrief the situation, however it is not clear how many workers were present. The meeting included a warning about ricin, explaining possible symptoms if infected.

The Postal Service has protocol for contaminated mail, which includes using a bio-detection system, isolating the mail, notifying management, and alerting investigators.