The federal government is recommending a site in Kansas over sites in North Carolina and elsewhere for a new $450 million laboratory to study biological threats such as anthrax and contagious animal diseases, a Kansas senator's office said Wednesday.

A 48-acre site on the campus of Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan., was preferred over sites in Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas for the research facility, the final environmental study says. Known as National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, the lab would study pathogens that could be used as threats against the United States.

The new lab would replace the aging Plum Island Animal Disease Center off the the coast of New York, the federal government's most secure location for animal disease research.

"Manhattan, Kansas State University and the state of Kansas have proven that we are the nation's leaders in plant and animal research and industry," said U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas in a statement. "I am proud of the role Kansas will continue to play in agriculture security and innovation. This NBAF will protect and build the state's agriculture economy for decades to come and further expand our national leadership in the biosciences."

The Department of Homeland Security, whose officials briefed some lawmakers and delivered a final environmental impact statement, had no official comment on any forthcoming announcement. "We have no comment today," said Amy Kudwa, a spokeswoman for the department.

The North Carolina site being considered was a tract of about 200 acres at the state's Umstead Research Farm in Butner, northeast of Durham in Granville County.

A spokesman in the office of U.S. Rep. Brad Miller, whose district includes the Butner site, said the office has received questions about a decision but could not confirm that Kansas was top-rated.

The December 2008 final environmental study for the biodefense lab, prepared by the Homeland Security department, said the Kansas site best met the criteria to build and operate the facility. It said the community and elected leaders in Manhattan demonstrated a strong acceptance of the proposed lab and, with local in-kind contributions, it would be among the least expensive places to build and operate the lab.

A consortium that included N.C. State and other area universities, government agencies, private companies and trade associations has pressed to bring the 520,000-square-foot lab to Butner.

But the project lost the support of local residents in North Carolina. After initially favoring it, several communities in Granville county withdrew their political support because of unanswered questions about safety. They were later joined in opposition by the cities of Raleigh and Durham.

Bill McKellar, a pharmacist in Butner and an organizer of the Granville Non-violent Action Team, which led opposition to the lab, said he was relieved by the recommendation.

"I'm really glad it's not coming to Butner," McKellar said. "I think our educational program through our leaders in Granville County brought out the fact that Butner was probably not the best site."

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