WASHINGTON — Kansas officials say a Washington Post article questioning the safety of the proposed National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Kansas is partly a case of sour grapes by Texas which lost its bid to snag the facility. U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback is one of those Kansans who says that the tornado threat to a Kansas lab is overblown. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security spent six years finding the best location for the new lab, he said. The lab be built to withstand a direct hit from a tornado, he said. Besides, Kansas has fewer tornados than Texas, he added. The Washington Post quotes a Government Accountability Office report that says that Homeland Security’s decision to build the facility in Kansas was questionable and greatly underestimated the chance of an accidental release of deadly pathogens and major contamination. Brownback said that threat is also overblown. The lab would be moved to Kansas from Plum Island, an isolated island off the coast of New York’s Long Island. A Michigan congressman said his House committee has scheduled hearings Thursday concerning the GAO’s concerns.
