The Homeland Security Department has swept aside evaluations of government experts and named Mississippi as a top possible location for a new national biodefense lab, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

Manhattan remains in the running to house the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility lab, where scientists will study some of the world's most virulent biological threats.

The states where locations were eliminated despite earning scores higher than Mississippi include Missouri, California, Georgia, Maryland, Texas and Wisconsin.

Some said they were unaware of the Homeland Security evaluation system that scored the Mississippi site so low and that the selection decisions were based on other factors. Some say powerful political forces in Mississippi are the reason.

For example, Columbia, Missouri, scored higher than Flora, Mississippi, but Homeland Security rejected it over "growing negative community feedback."

Under the department's own rules, it was free to disregard the recommendations of the government experts it appointed.

The lab will cost $451 million and would replace an existing 24-acre research complex on isolated Plum Island.

The Mississippi decision hasn't swayed the Kansans trying to bring the $450 million site to Manhattan.

Tom Thornton, the president of the Kansas Bioscience Authority issued a statement which reads, in part,

"Kansas is uniquely qualified to meet the critical national challenge of protecting the American food supply and agriculture economy. Our animal-health research expertise, industry, and infrastructure are truly world class, and we can move the NBAF mission forward safely and effectively on day one."

If Manhattan is chosen, the lab is expected to create 500 jobs and have a $3.5 billion impact on the local economy over 20 years.