FAYETTEVILLE — Authorities say hazardous materials crews responded to a hospital in Fayetteville after a patient arrived at the facility and said he'd been poisoned by ricin.
The Fayetteville Fire Department says the waiting room at Washington Regional Medical Center was briefly shut down Wednesday after the patient came in, carrying a bag of items that he said included ricin.
Authorities tell Fayetteville television station KHOG that the bag contained some type of beans, but it wasn't ricin. Authorities say there was no danger to the public.
Ricin is found naturally in castor beans. When purified, even a very small amount of ricin can kill, and there is no known antidote.