Via FoxNews -
The Department of Homeland Security has approved a site at Kansas State University for a $450 million lab to study livestock diseases and some of the world's most dangerous biological threats.
DHS released its final record of the approval Monday, confirming a decision announced in December to build the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility at the Manhattan, Kan., campus to replace an aging lab at Plum Island, N.Y.
Sites in Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas were also considered for the new lab, where animal diseases and other potential bioterrorism threats will be researched.
The federal agency said factors in its decision included the proximity of the site to Kansas State's research labs and its colleges of agriculture and veterinary medicine.
Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he will work to ensure the project is fully funded. The state has agreed to provide more than $105 million in infrastructure improvements at the site to cover additional costs.
"This is great news. NBAF is a great win for Kansas and Kansas is a great win for NBAF," said Brownback, a Republican.
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As far as I can tell, the current BSL-3 lab is being upgraded to a BSL-4 lab...which means it will be better equipped to play with the deadly stuff that the DHS is asking it to play with now.
My view on the post-911 bio-terrorism research lab expansion is another issue and another blog entirely.
Check out this NY Times article from 2003 for a bit of background...
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A03E1DB1530F932A35755C0A9659C8B63
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