TOPEKA, Kan.
The federal government has underestimated the risks of building a lab for researching dangerous animal diseases in a densely populated area in the heart of cattle country, a report released Monday contends.
The National Research Council's report notes that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security itself has estimated that there is a 70 percent chance a pathogen could be released from the lab within 50 years, and that it could cause up to $50 billion in damages.
Homeland Security officials have concluded that the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility would be safe. The $451 million lab would be built on the north side of the Kansas State University campus in Manhattan.
The research council calls the assessment "not entirely adequate or valid."...
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