ATLANTA– Federal authorities have released an update on the investigation into fires at the BioLab chemical plant near Atlanta that produced a toxic chemical cloud and forced local residents to take shelter on site.
The fires broke out at the BioLab plant in Conyers on September 29, sending a huge plume of orange and black smoke into the air. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board released a report on Friday research update.
BioLab makes chemicals that kill algae and bacteria in water, mainly for swimming pools and hot tubs, the report said. The company is a subsidiary of Lawrenceville, Georgia-based KIK Consumer Products.
A BioLab employee who was on fire watch at Plant 12’s storage warehouse reported hearing a “popping sound” as they left a break room at 5 a.m. to do a check and immediately saw a product that was reactive was on water was wet, the report said. The employee called the only other BioLab employee on site.
Although no flames were initially observed, the fire marshal attempted unsuccessfully to isolate the product and called 911 at approximately 5:10 a.m. as “large toxic vapor plumes” were forming in the building.
At 6:30 a.m., flames could be seen through the roof of the area where workers first noticed the chemical reaction. An initial shelter-in-place order was issued around 7:40 a.m. and the fire was extinguished by Rockdale County firefighters about 30 minutes later.
A second fire broke out around noon, creating “thick black smoke followed by multi-colored plumes,” the report said. Evacuations of the area began around 12:30 p.m., and the county fire marshal said the fire was extinguished by 4 p.m.
Parts of the building where the initial response took place collapsed during the fire and the building was completely destroyed. The Plant 12 building covered an area larger than five football fields and remained an “active emergency response scene” for nearly four weeks, the report said.
The Plant 12 warehouse was a bulk storage area, separated from the main warehouse by a firewall and fire shutters, the report said. BioLab told federal investigators that they had established a permanent fire watch two or three months before the event “after detecting strong odors of oxidizers in two storage buildings,” including Plant 12.
Interstate 20, which runs parallel to the facility, was closed shortly after the building collapsed, just before 1 p.m., and was closed until about 7 a.m. the next day. Minor roads near the facility remained closed and the Rockdale County Emergency Management Agency issued shelter-in-place warnings within a two-mile radius that lasted several weeks. The last order expired on October 17.
Smoke drifted toward Atlanta, creating a smog or haze that smelled of chlorine in parts of the city and surrounding areas.
More than a dozen lawsuits have been filed in connection with the fire.