Atlanta

BioLab Fire: Fed-up business owners, neighbors take BioLab complaints to State Capitol

By Candace McCowan
By Candace McCowan

ATLANTA — Dozens of fed-up Rockdale County residents took their concerns to Georgia lawmakers on Tuesday after the chemical fire at Biolab in Conyers.

And now those lawmakers say they’re planning on making changes.

“We will compel the owners, the leaders of BioLab to be present,” said state Rep. Billy Mitchell about his hopes for a future hearing where lawmakers will get answers.

It was an answer that Melvin Little was hoping for at a hearing for Rockdale County residents at the Georgia State Capitol Tuesday.

“I have contractors and employees that work there so I’ve got about 40 people displaced,” said Little, who runs Precision Paint and Collision.

He said he’s losing thousands by the day with his shop shut down.

He also shared photos showing what some chains in his shop looked like before the fire and then the corrosion after.

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“That metal and that corrosion that takes about anywhere between 10 years to 15 years to have that kind of damage in regular weather. But for it to happen in six days, it’s a massive chemical reaction,” Little said.

On Tuesday, lawmakers listened to the impacts of the fire and the plume that has persisted ever since.

“One of the things we can most certainly do is an environmental justice commission which will look more closely into industries like this,” Mitchell said.

“I’m a little surprised that they are still there,” State Rep. Angela Moore said.

For the many who showed up to the hearing, they’re still in need of solutions.

Little just wants to get back to making money safely.

“You cannot do business in a smoke plume,” Little said.

Legislators said they hope to have their next hearing in a matter of weeks with BioLab officials there to answer questions.

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