CONYERS, Ga. — A chemical cloud has been emanating from Conyers since Sunday, when a fire broke out at the facility of a company that makes pool and spa treatments and sprinkler system water reacted with chemicals on site. The city of Conyers was evacuated, the wider Rockdale County was put under shelter-in-place guidance and surrounding counties for a time reported the smell of chlorine and a haze in areas.
In a Monday evening update, Rockdale County lifted its shelter-in-place and evacuator orders for all residents and the City of Conyers said residents could return, after nearly the entire city had been put in an evacuation zone, with EPA readings finding "everything is well below contamination level."
Early Tuesday morning around 4 a.m., however, Rockdale County altered the guidance and said the plume is "banking down and moving throughout the county" due to the weather. "If the cloud moves over your vicinity, please shelter in place until the cloud moves out," the county said.
A Georgia Poison Center hotline has been set up at 404-856-6252 for anyone wishing to report symptoms such as nose, throat or eye irritation or difficulty breathing.
Here is some other critical information:
- What's in the air: Federal EPA and state EPD testing have confirmed the presence of chlorine, Rockdale County said. What, if any, other chemicals might be involved has not been detailed.
- What direction is the plume going?: Rockdale County Government posted on Facebook around 4 a.m. that the plume is currently banking down and moving throughout the county but did not give a specific direction. A release Monday from the county described it as an "unpredictable path and wind direction."
- Shelter locations for those affected:
- The Rockdale County Government posted about shelter locations. Below is a list:
- 2484 Bruce St. Lithonia, 30058
- 218 Scout Road, Covington, 30016
- 3375 E Fairview Road SW, Stockbridge, 30281
- DeKalb County has opened a recreation center to assist displaced residents.
- The American Red Cross is accepting evacuees at Lucious Sanders Recreation Center, 2484 Bruce Street, Lithonia, beginning at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday.
- DeKalb County Emergency Management has provided 200 cots.
- The Rockdale County Government posted about shelter locations. Below is a list:
- Interstate-20 has reopened: This took effect around 7 a.m. Monday
- Hotlines: For non-emergency situations, people are asked not to call 911. They are directed to the county EMA hotline at 770-278-8300 or the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office non-emergency line at 770-278-8200.
- Newton County Schools closed Tuesday: Newton County is directly southeast of Rockdale. The schools in Rockdale County are on fall break starting Monday. Georgia Piedmont Technical College campuses were also closed but are reopening Tuesday.
In a statement, a spokesperson for BioLab said representatives are "actively responding" to the situation. The spokesperson said employees "are accounted for with no injuries reported." BioLab said it has a team on the scene, working with first responders and local authorities to assess and contain the situation.
"As always, the safety of our community remains our top priority," the statement read.
11Alive will provide additional updates throughout the day on the situation.
Latest updates | Tuesday, Oct. 1
5:04 p.m. | Rockdale officials have shared an updated list of road closures:
- Old Covington Hwy @ Rockdale Industrial
- Kysor Crossing @ Rockdale Industrial
- Old Covington Highway @ Blacklawn
- Dogwood Drive @ VFW
- Veterans Drive @VFW
4:28 p.m. | Rockdale government officials are recommending residents shelter in place from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. from tonight until Friday, Oct. 4, due to weather fluctuations, called "inversions," that they said would cause air quality readings to dip to "concerning levels" for those in direct exposure to the plume. During this period, officials recommend closing doors and windows and turning off HVAC systems if they draw air from outside.
Here is 11Alive meteorologist Melissa Nord explaining why the air quality diminishes at night:
2:40 p.m. | Rockdale Piedmont Hospital issues an update saying it "remains open so if you or a loved one are experiencing a medical emergency, please call 9-1-1."
1:50 p.m. | We run down a lot of what's new today and what we learned from the press conference about the specifics of what happened and what's going on in Conyers:
1:15 p.m. | Atlanta Fire Rescue Department release says AFRD is "conducting daily air quality tests, particularly along the I-20 corridor near Candler Road, Flat Shoals Road, and Moreland Avenue. Results show no threats to safety."
11:05 a.m. | Rockdale County CEO Oz Nesbitt spoke at length during a more than 30-minute news conference, stressing "we are on top of the situation."
Rockdale EMA Director Sharon Webb said there was a "plan to push out for later on as we continue to mitigate" the reactive plume situation, but did not elaborate further.
Rockdale County Fire Chief Marian McDaniel described the reaction occurring with product that was on site, and that they were preparing the last two days to try to remove the pallets of the product but that when they began to do that, they found the "super sack" industrial bulk bags containing the product had disintegrated.
The chief said they could no longer at that point simply remove pallets, and so now will using rolling containers to offload the product a little bit of a time.
She described the product as "pool shock," which chlorinates a pool and can be produced in retail form as a grainy/powdery packaged product or in solid cylindrical hockey puck-like forms. It is unclear how the pool shock at BioLab was being packaged.
10:40 a.m. | Lot to unpack from that press conference which you can review in the YouTube player below, but Rockdale officials stress chemical levels in the air are below those known to cause symptoms, though people with respiratory issues or other conditions are urged to continue sheltering in place.
No timetable was available on when this might end, with officials describing a "process" that could last through the week.
More to come.
10:00 a.m. | The press conference with Rockdale County is expected to begin momentarily.
9:40 a.m. | We'll be covering a 10 a.m. update from Rockdale County officials. Meanwhile you can see below the blanketing of the plume nearby thanks to a Georgia Department of Transportation traffic cam:
8:50 a.m. | Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens references the updated shelter-in-place guidance in Rockdale County and says the Georgia Poison Center has created a hotline for calls relating to symptoms.
8:00 a.m. | The 11Alive SkyTracker view showed the plume is still significant in size and spewing at a consistent rate, creating a long trail in the sky stretching -- it appeared at about 7:45 a.m., based on the direction of I-20 and the sunrise -- southward.
7:25 a.m. | The 11Alive SkyTracker is over the plume. See it above.
7 a.m. | Rockdale has issued a new update as of 6:35: "We are aware and are assessing the situation. The plume has consistently shifted throughout the night. We ask that you shelter in place if the plume moves over your vicinity or if there is a strong odor of chlorine. If you have respiratory issues, we encourage you to shelter in place. We will provide an update as quickly as possible."
5 a.m. | Tuesday morning, Rockdale reported on Facebook that the plume was still present and moving through the county; residents were asked to continue to shelter in place if it passed over their area. Catch up with the latest in the video below:
Monday, Sept. 30
8:27 p.m. | Atlanta-Fulton County EMA posted an update on X, saying that Georgia Poison Control has created a dedicated hotline for this incident.
"If you have symptoms that may be related -- such as nose, throat or eye irritation or difficulty breathing -- call your health provider or the Georgia Poison Center at 404-856-6252."
The agency also said that weather conditions Monday night will be similar to last night.
7:56 p.m. | Rockdale County Emergency Management Agency is lifting its shelter-in-place recommendation and the evacuation zone for those who were impacted by the Conyers BioLab chemical fire. In the past 24 hours, readings from the EPA show that all average level readings are at .09, which is well below the action level of .5, according to a press release by Rockdale County. The water is also deemed safe in Rockdale County. The EPA said they will continue to monitor air readings.
6:39 p.m. | Newton County Schools announced it will be closed tomorrow (Tuesday, Oct. 1) for students and most staff. Meanwhile, all principals, central office employees, and 12-month personnel should report Tuesday in anticipation of a full return for everyone on Wednesday, Oct. 2.