Following the chaos of Hurricane Helene, a fire broke out in the BioLab warehouse in Rockdale County, 30 miles east of Atlanta.
On Sept. 29, at around 5 a.m., an unknown source caused the eruption. Local fire department officials released a statement saying that the water from the sprinkler system had reacted with various chemicals in the building. The roof collapsed due to the fire, after which the fire reignited until it was fully extinguished at 3:30 p.m. later that day. All BioLab employees were accounted for, and no injuries were reported.
Based in Lawrenceville, GA, BioLab is the swimming pool and spa water care division of KIK Consumer Products. BioLab was founded in 1955 and provided cleaning products to the poultry industry before switching its focus to pool and spa chemicals in 1962. Their portfolio includes manufacturing chemicals used in swimming pools for product lines ProGuard and Pro Series, Atlanta-based pool supplies contractors.
After the fire broke out, a plume of smoke erupted that was visible from as far as Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, releasing several chemicals, including chlorine, chloramine and chlorine compounds. By Monday, the Georgia Emergency Services and Homeland Security Agency announced a local area emergency for residents within a 50-mile radius of the BioLab facility.
Dr. Joseph Sadighee, professor in the School of Chemistry & Biochemistry at Tech, told 11Alive, “Chlorine gas is very poisonous in high concentrations. It was the first substance used in chemical warfare during World War I. Now, I don’t want to alarm anybody — that was used deliberately at very high concentrations.”
The danger in air quality prompted a mass evacuation of the city of Conyers while Rockdale County was put under a shelter-in-place order. As of Monday, the shelter-in-place order for most of the county has been lifted, except for those living within a two-mile radius of the BioLab facility.
Rockdale County Schools were closed for fall break during the incident but resumed lessons online. Virtual learning was in effect through Oct. 9.
In response to the fire, BioLab has set up a website with the latest updates to mitigate the safety and health concerns Conyers residents are facing.
BioLab states, “We take our role in the Conyers community very seriously and we deeply regret the impact of the fire at our warehouse. Our priority is remediating this situation with the health and safety of the community at the top of our minds. The response is being led by the Unified Command, under the direction of the Rockdale County Fire Chief, and is comprised of local, state and federal officials and BioLab senior leaders — along with the technical specialists. We are all working diligently to make progress onsite.”
By Oct. 1, scientists in Atlanta began monitoring the air quality around the city. The team, led by Tech Professor Sally Ng from the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, was observing real-time data through a network of atmospheric measurement sites across the U.S. The instruments offer immediate insights into local air conditions, allowing the team to document changes in the air due to the fire.
“When the fire occurred, pollutants were carried outside by the wind, and that’s when our team detected a spike in chlorine and bromine-containing particles,” said Ng.
The spike was brief, and Ng stated that the recorded levels are still within the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) safety standards. Most of what they saw in Dekalb County on Oct. 1 has dissipated and air quality has returned to normal.
Atlanta residents also received alerts that the air quality was being monitored, with assurances that everything appeared normal at that time.
This is not the first time a fire has erupted at BioLab. Similar incidents occurred in 2020, 2016, and 2004. The 2004 fire occurred when the plant contained 12.5 million pounds of pool chemicals and oxidizers, which caused thousands of residents to evacuate.
The EPA told AJC that its responses to the 2004 and 2020 fires were “very similar to current response actions.”
With numerous incidents affecting Rockdale County, crowds of frustrated residents spoke out at the Rockdale County Board of Commissioners meeting on Oct. 8, with many residents urging that the plant be permanently shut down.
Rockdale County Chairman Osborn (Oz) Nesbitt responded by saying he would address any concerns after the situation is under control and the air quality is back to normal.