BioLab fire: Shelter-in-place continues; Atlanta residents may soon smell chlorine

Another shelter-in-place has been ordered as county officials continue to monitor plumes that have circulated in a Georgia community following a chemical fire.

On Sunday morning, a fire started on the roof of a BioLab facility in Conyers, Georgia. The fire was reignited when water from a malfunctioning sprinkler head "came in contact with a water reactive chemical and produced a plume," county officials explained on their website. 

The blaze had been extinguished earlier in the day, officials said.  

Conyers is about 26 miles east of Atlanta, Georgia. 

On Wednesday, the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency shared an update on the status of the plumes within the area.

"Overnight, monitoring around the Bio Lab facility detected some exceedances above the action level for chlorine. Workers on site have continued to make progress in neutralizing the product," the government agency said. "As the neutralization process continues, periodic increases in chlorine levels around the facility are expected."

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Shelter in place for Rockdale County residents

Around 4:28 p.m. local time on Tuesday the Rockdale County Government issued an alert to warn residents about their safety while in the affected area.  

“Due to weather and inversion in the evening, air quality readings may dip to concerning levels for those in direct exposure to the plume,” the Facebook post said. “With citizen safety in mind, Rockdale EMA (Emergency Management Agency) is recommending Rockdale County Shelter in Place from 7 pm to 7 am beginning tonight until Friday, Oct. 4, 2024.” '

Atlanta residents could start to smell chlorine following chemical fire

As officials continue to monitor the direction of the plumes, Atlanta residents may begin to smell chlorine on Thursday.

"The current weather models show the winds will begin to shift from the east to the west after sunset Wednesday. Smoke is predicted to settle towards the ground as it moves toward Atlanta," the agency said. "There is a high likelihood that people across Metro Atlanta will wake up on Thursday morning seeing haze and smelling chlorine."

Smoke that contains chlorine compounds can cause eye irritations and many respiratory symptoms, the government agency said.

"At this time, chlorine levels in the air sit at safe levels, however, out of an abundance of caution, continue to follow the advice of your local EMA’s," the agency said.

“This incident is just not isolated to Rockdale County,” Oz Nesbitt, chairman and CEO of Rockdale County said during a press conference Tuesday. “We understand from our local community partners throughout the region, other municipalities and other counties are being impacted by the plume that's in the air moving throughout Metropolitan Atlanta.”    

The officials plan to monitor the air quality within the surrounding areas until the situation improves.  

Lawsuit filed

A class-action lawsuit was filed by attorneys on behalf of 90,000 Rockdale residents on Sept. 30. The lawsuit states that residents are suing both BioLab and KIK Consumer Products Inc for property-related damaged from the Sept. 29 fire, according to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

KIK Consumer Products Inc is a North American consumer product manufacturer.

In addition to the property-related damages, the suit says that the class members have suffered "loss of use and enjoyment, remediation and clean-up costs, lost profits, and diminution of property value" as a result of the fire.

“Citizens trust that, when companies are handling potentially toxic and dangerous chemicals, they take the utmost care to ensure that people don’t get hurt,” former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, who serves as plaintiffs’ counsel, said in a statement. “The people of Conyers trusted the defendants to keep them safe, and the defendants abused that trust. This never should have happened.”

USA TODAY reached out to BioLab and KIK Consumer Products Inc for comment.

EPA tracks air quality after chemical fire at BioLab with interactive tool  

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses a real-time air monitoring instrument to track the air quality for chlorine due to the BioLab fire.  

During the press conference on Tuesday, Rick Jardine, a federal on-scene coordinator at the EPA, said that the government agency will continue to monitor the incident until “safe conditions prevail.”   

Here is a look at the interactive tool that the EPA is using to monitor chlorine in the air:  

Contributing: James Powel, USA TODAY.

Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.