ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. — At Blu Barn Farm, Dedrick Gilchrist didn't need a notification to know something was wrong with the air on Sept. 29. His eyes started to itch, and his head began to hurt as he cared for his horses and ponies.
"It was like, 'What do we do?' We've got animals. I can't fit them all in my trailer at once," he said. "These are family members, so of course we can shelter in this place, but they can't."
Then, he started worrying about the debris scattered across his pasture. He's watched Maserati, Mercedes and their equine siblings for signs of abnormal breathing all week.
"There's been black flakes. You'll see them randomly over the yard," he said. "The biggest I've seen may be a little bit bigger than my hand, but about 20 to 25 pieces or so."
This week, the Environmental Protection Agency identified the debris as burnt Styrofoam remnants of the BioLab roof. On-site coordinator Rick Jardine said it was not contaminated debris.
"It's not dangerous in any way," he said Monday afternoon during a press conference. "There's no chlorine on it. The sampling has shown that it's asbestos-free. They've also checked for metals and what we call semi-volatile organic compounds (and they're) all below concern levels."
He said he'd blow it off with a leaf blower or put on gloves if he found the chunks in his own yard.
"I'd put on gloves, put it in a trash bag, tie it up and put out the trash," Jardine said. "BioLab has offered to go get that material."
In a statement, BioLab told 11Alive it's addressing the debris concerns and actively removing debris from public areas, roads and public land where wind has carried materials offsite.
"BioLab has established a debris removal service for community members who wish to have fire debris cleared from their property. Requests can be submitted to DebrisPickup@biolabinc.com," a spokesperson said. "Additionally, BioLab has tested structural debris samples for asbestos, and the results have confirmed that none is present."