WOOSTER, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio State University will study plant and animal diseases that threaten the state's agriculture industry at a new laboratory in northeast Ohio that's super-secure.

The Columbus Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/pQqr69 ) the facility being dedicated Friday at Ohio State's agricultural research center in Wooster is surrounded by a tall black fence and has concrete walls more than a foot thick.

The $22.3 million building was made to withstand earthquakes and tornadoes. The unveiling comes exactly one year after the Wooster center was blasted by winds of up to 130 mph as a rash of tornadoes hit the state. Greenhouses and other buildings were destroyed.

Ohio State officials hope the new facility and its security clearance will allow the center to draw more research grants.

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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com

Copyright 2011 The AP.