Conyers BioLab plant fire: What to know
Catch up on developments and what this means for you
The plume of smoke rising from BioLab as seen from Old
Covington Hwy continued on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024 in
Conyers. A Sunday fire at the chemical plant in Conyers
has had agencies monitoring the air quality since then
as crews try to neutralize the site. Rockdale County
officials said that the plume is changing colors as
workers remove debris. GEMA has advised anyone who
notices a chlorine odor in the air to limit their time
outdoors. (John Spink/AJC)
By Rosana Hughes
Updated Oct 4, 2024
Hazy skies and an odor of chlorine have persisted
across parts of southeastern metro Atlanta since
Sunday’s fire at the BioLab chemical plant in Rockdale
County, and those conditions are expected to continue
through the weekend.
The fire has been extinguished, but smoke continues to
rise due to the pool chemicals produced at the plant
reacting with the water that was used to contain the
blaze. The fire initially sent a colossal wall of smoke
into the sky.
It prompted the evacuation of about 17,000 people in
Conyers and a shelter-in-place order for the entire
county. Both orders have since been lifted, but
officials continue recommending residents stay indoors
if they experience symptoms such as eye and airway
irritation, coughing, shortness of breath, difficulty
breathing, chest tightness and headaches.
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There is no timetable for when the cleanup will be
completed.
What chemicals were released?
Chemicals released from the Conyers fire include
chlorine, chloramine and chlorine compounds, according
to the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland
Security Agency.
Additionally, bromine — another chemical used in spa
and pool treatments as an alternative to chlorine and
has a bleach-like odor — was also detected, though at
lower levels.
Specifically, Georgia Tech professor Sally Ng said a
system known as the Atmospheric Science and Chemistry
Measurement Network detected a 1,400-times increase in
the amount of chlorine-containing particles in the air,
and a 170-times increase in the amount of bromine-
containing particles in the air over Decatur on Monday
morning. Typically, there is little of either element
in the air, Ng said.
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Bromine exposure also can be toxic, the symptoms of
which are similar to chlorine exposure.
How does this affect you?
While the shelter-in-place order in Rockdale County has
been lifted, officials recommended that residents
shelter in place from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. until Friday.
The Georgia Emergency Management Agency has advised
anyone who notices a chlorine odor in the air to limit
their time outdoors. Chlorine, however, has a low odor
threshold, meaning people can smell it even at very low
concentrations that do not cause harm, according to the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“For everyone sheltering in place, the best practice is
to turn the air conditioning off and keep windows and
doors shut,” officials instructed.
GEMA issued a public safety alert Monday afternoon that
went out statewide but only affects people within a 50-
mile radius of Rockdale County. The alert was issued on
behalf of the state’s Environmental Protection Division
and stated that “chemical levels are unlikely to cause
harm to most people.”
Who are “most people?”
Those with underlying health conditions, such as asthma
and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, should be
especially careful to avoid exposure and pay attention
to symptoms, according to Jeremy Sarnat, an associate
professor at Emory University’s Rollins School of
Public Health and member of a scientific committee that
advises the EPA.
Additionally, those who are pregnant, children and the
elderly, should limit their time outdoors.
So far, air quality testing has not detected
concentrations that would pose safety concerns to the
general public. The health effects from an exposure to
the chemicals will be strongly influenced by the amount
of the chemicals a person inhales and their individual
health status, Sarnat said.
Is this toxic?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention didn’t
answer questions about the possible health impacts from
the chemical release; instead, a spokesperson said it
would refer questions to GEMA, which is leading the
emergency response.
However, on its informational webpage, the CDC notes
that exposure to chlorine can cause burning of the
eyes, nose and throat. It also can lead to headaches,
nausea and choking.
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At low concentrations, though, only a small amount may
reach your lungs, the CDC says. More severe injury
takes place if people are exposed at highly
concentrated levels because, when chlorine gas touches
moist tissues (such as eyes, throat and lungs), it
creates an acid that can harm these tissues.
For example, a short exposure to chlorine in the air at
one to three parts per million could lead to mild nose
irritation. At five to 15 parts per million, throat
irritation could arise. An exposure of 40 to 60 parts
per million could result in lung injury.
Most people’s exposure from this incident would likely
be low and under five parts per million, unless a
person was in the direct plume release, Sarnat said.
Symptoms of exposure and next steps
If high amounts of chlorine are inhaled, breathing
problems can show up right away. But if low amounts are
inhaled, symptoms might show up later, according to the
CDC.
Here are some symptoms to look out for:
Blurred vision or eyes tearing up.
Burning feeling in the nose, throat, lungs and eyes.
Coughing and/or coughing up white- to pink-colored
fluid.
Chest tightness.
Breathing problems, shortness of breath, or rapid and
shallow breathing.
Nausea and/or vomiting.
People with nonurgent symptoms can call the Georgia
Poison Center to discuss what they should do, and
whether they need to seek medical care, at a special
number established for this purpose: 404-856-6252.
Those with chest or asthma symptoms should contact
their allergist, as such complications can linger for
several days after the initial trigger, Dr. Lily Hwang
of Atlanta Allergy and Asthma clinics said.
How should you protect yourself?
Sarnat, the Emory professor, said there’s little
protection to be had from wearing a mask like those
worn to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The gas
molecules and particles that may form from reactions
with other gases are smaller than virus particles and
would easily penetrate those masks, he said.
There are heavy duty respirators that would work, but
they are cumbersome and typically used in occupational
exposure settings, not by the general public.
What caused the fire?
It is unclear what sparked the fire, which started on
the facility’s roof Sunday morning. It was initially
extinguished but reignited that afternoon, triggering
the building’s sprinkler system, which then caused
water to mix with a water-reactive chemical.
Workers had already been trying to move the chemical
away from the water source but had not done so by the
time the fire reignited.
The flames were brought under control by 4 p.m. Sunday,
and the plant’s roof and walls collapsed. No injuries
were reported, though some employees were inside the
plant at the time.
Has this happened before?
In September 2020, I-20 was closed for more than six
hours as a chlorine vapor cloud rose from the facility
due to a chemical reaction, which had also been caused
by a water exposure inside the plant, a company
spokesperson said at the time. Nearby businesses were
evacuated, and residents were encouraged to shelter in
place.
In 2016, the Rockdale County fire department responded
to an incident involving trichlorisocyanuric acid,
another swimming pool chemical, that had been left in
BioLab’s waste storage site within two 3.5-gallon
buckets. The chemical had started smoking as it started
to breakdown, according to a Georgia Environmental
Protection Division complaint report.
In 2004, a fire broke out at the BioLab warehouse in
Conyers that contained about 12.5 million pounds of
pool chemicals and oxidizers, prompting thousands of
residents to evacuate.
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To fight the fire, excavators were used to knocked down
one of the walls of the warehouse to flood the area
with water. EPD went on to investigate problems with
water runoff, which caused a “sizable fish kill” in
nearby VFW Lake two days after the fire.
In that case, “the effect of the plume was felt more
than 50 miles away,” the EPA said on its website.
The EPA said its responses to the 2004 and 2020 fires
were “very similar to current response actions.”
A BioLab facility in Westlake, Louisiana, has also had
numerous problems.
After Hurricane Laura hit the area in August 2020, a
major fire at BioLab’s Louisiana facility caused a
release of chlorine gas that caused significant damage
to the facility.
In March 2023, a chlorine leak at the same Louisiana
facility caused a cloud over the city of Westlake for
hours, according to reports.
And in July 2024, a fire at the same facility caused
the closure of a portion of I-10 and a shelter-in-place
order, according to news reports.
About the Author
Rosana Hughes Follow Rosana Hughes on twitter
Rosana Hughes is a reporter on the breaking news team.
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