Questions about what exactly is burning and the degree of any potential public health danger loom over metro Atlanta alongside the smoke cloud from a fire at a Conyers chemical factory.

The fire erupted Sunday at the BioLab factory, which manufactures chemicals used in pools and spas. On Tuesday, the fire was still raging, and smoke was predicted to persist for the whole week.

About 17,000 people living close to the plant received evacuation orders as a result of the fire; thousands more received orders to stay put, and Interstate 20 was closed. While Newton County Schools were closed on Monday and Tuesday, Rockdale County Public Schools were closed for autumn break. Some districts called off their outdoor after-school programs.

Public health experts have not provided much information, but they maintain that breathing the air that has been contaminated by burning "chlorines, chloramine, and chlorine compounds" is harmless.

According to Carmen Marsit, an Emory University environmental health expert, people in Atlanta may have wet eyes and scratchy throats, but these symptoms should go away when the air clears. Residents in close proximity to the facility may have respiratory symptoms such as coughing, which could worsen for people who already have asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute's County Health Rankings show that, even prior to the fire, Rockdale County had worse than average air pollution rates and below average health outcomes. About 61% of the 95,000 people that live in Rockdale are Black, and 11% are Hispanic. 18% of kids are living in poverty.

BioLab has a history of fires—and concealment—at locations in Georgia and Louisiana.  The Southern Environmental Law Center's staff attorney, Patrick Anderson, stated that BioLab might never reveal the substances burning in Conyers. 

The plant's chemical inventory is not included in an EPA inspection report on a fire that occurred there in September 2020, and a cover note claims the business requested that certain “confidential business information” not be made public by the EPA.

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