The Associated Press

MANHATTAN, Kan. — State and local officials promoted Kansas as a good site for a new national biodefense lab, but a handful of local residents expressed skepticism and even opposition during a federal hearing Thursday.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is considering a site on the Kansas State University campus for the new National Bio- and Agro Defense Facility. Construction is expected to cost at least $451 million, and the lab’s payroll is estimated at between $25 million and $30 million.

The department expects to make a decision later this year.

State, local and university officials called the lab a natural fit for Kansas, given the state’s agriculture economy and research already under way.

“We have a long-standing commitment to this work, we have unparalleled expertise, and we have demonstrated that we can pull people and resources together to make things happen,” Gov. Kathleen Sebelius told a panel of three Homeland Security officials who had the hearing.

Also under consideration are sites in Athens, Ga.; Butner, N.C.; San Antonio; and Flora, Miss. Another alternative would be building a new research lab on Plum Island, N.Y., where the existing one is located.

That option is considered less likely because the administration spent considerable time and money scouting new locations and because of concerns about operating from a location accessible only by ferry or helicopter.

During the Kansas State University hearing, a few local residents sought assurances that deadly diseases handled by the lab won’t accidentally escape.

Sandy Cravens, a farmer and stockwoman northeast of Manhattan, wore a black visor with “NO BIO” across the bill and carried a plastic pig with “NO BIO” written on a denim patch glued to its side. The pig squealed when she walked to the front of the auditorium to speak.

She said an accidental or intentional release of foot-and-mouth disease or other pathogens would devastate the region.

“I think the research needs to be done, just not here,” she said. “They are only doing it for monetary gain.”

She added: “Make the terrorists bring it here, not come here to blow it up.”

In June, Homeland Security released its 1,005-page draft environmental impact study calculating that economic losses in an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease could surpass $4 billion if the lab were built near livestock herds in Kansas or Texas.

That would be roughly $1 billion higher than the government’s estimate of losses for a hypothetical outbreak from its existing lab on Plum Island.