A chemical cloud moving around Atlanta's suburbs prompts a new shelter-in-place alert
A chemical plant fire southeast of Atlanta is still causing trouble two days later
ATLANTA — Residents east of Atlanta were again warned to take shelter where they are on Tuesday if a chemical cloud moves over their neighborhood, as winds shifted the plume from a fire at a chemical plant.
A shelter-in-place order had just ended Monday evening for more than 90,000 people closest to the chemical plant where a fire sent a huge plume of orange and black smoke into the Georgia sky on Sunday. People complained about a strong chemical smell and haze for many miles around the BioLab plant in Conyers, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of downtown Atlanta.
“Due to the weather, the plume is banking down and moving throughout the county. If the cloud moves over your vicinity, please shelter in place until the cloud moves out,” Rockdale County officials told residents on social media early Tuesday.
The fire was brought under control around 4 p.m. Sunday, officials said, but they were still mopping up hot spots in the wreckage on Monday and the polluting smoke “constantly shifted” before dawn on Tuesday. With relatively little crosswinds to disperse the plume, smelly haze lingered across the Atlanta area.
BioLab’s website says it is the swimming pool and spa water care division of Lawrenceville, Georgia-based KIK Consumer Products. Residents around the area expressed frustration that company officials in their public statements didn’t specify what “products” were burning. Atlanta's fire department said it was testing for the presence of chemicals including chlorine, hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide.
Federal officials are investigating what led to the fire and how it has been handled. The sprinkler system showered water
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