SAN ANTONIO (AP) _ A Texas group announced plans Wednesday to sue Homeland Security over its choice of Kansas for a $450 million biodefense lab.
The Texans claim political connections led federal officials to overlook the location’s tornado risk.
The Texas Biological and Agro-Defense Consortium sought the facility for San Antonio.
Consortium chairman John Kerr calls selection of the Manhattan, Kansas, site “grossly irresponsible, the equivalent of playing Russian roulette with Mother Nature.”
The lawsuit would seek to set aside the DHS decision and stop work on the Kansas site, which would replace an aging facility at Plum Island, N.Y.
DHS spokesman Matt Chandler defends the choice and says the selection process was “transparent.”
The Kansas Bioscience Authority says modern labs have containment structures and other safety measures in case of a tornado.