Studies warn about proposed lab in Kansas; shouldn’t we listen?

...Absent added safety precautions, the council rates the chance at 70 percent within 50 years, perhaps crippling the livestock industry and affecting the food supply.

This is the third study to warn of risks of building a facility that studies highly contagious livestock diseases such as foot-and-mouth in the midst of one of the most livestock-intensive regions of the country...

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Report questions safety of planned biodefense lab

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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