BioLab Fire: Rockdale firefighters give update on cleanup efforts at the fire site

ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. — The Rockdale County Fire Department released an update on the cleanup effort at the BioLab factory.

The fire department released a video Friday morning with an update.

The factory burned down early Sunday morning, causing a chemical cloud to emit from the site for days now.

The factory produced pool products and the chemicals inside interacted with the water used to put the fire out.

Since then, a plume has been seen coming from the site and a chlorine smell has been noticed all over that area.

“We’re going to have pockets of little plumes that’s going to come up as we lift the walls off of the product,” Deputy Chief James Robinson with Rockdale County Fire Rescue said in the video. “The walls of the building fell in during the firefighter’s efforts. We have to get to that product that’s underneath. You have a lot of product that got trapped up under these large concrete walls.”

Earlier in the week, county leaders said the containers containing the chemical disintegrated in the fire and they were now hauling the product away.

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“As we get to that product that’s underneath, so that we can get it cleaned and get it out of this community, you’re going to experience this, that’s really hot gas,” Robinson said.

County officials said that chlorines, chloramine and chlorine compounds were released into the air from the fire.

Dr. Lynn Paxton, interim health director for the Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale health district, said those chemicals can cause irritation of the skin and the mucus membranes, including the eyes, nasal passages and the respiratory system.

“People who already have respiratory conditions affecting these parts of the body may be more likely to develop symptoms from this exposure,” Paxton said.

Paxton said she has been getting many calls and emails from people about whether N-95 masks will help filter out the chemicals. She said in this case, they will not.

“The reason for this is because the chlorine compounds are actually smaller than the size filtered by the N-95 mask,” Paxton said.

Site workers have made progress in “neutralizing” the chemical, but the plume continues to form in the air.

BioLab released a statement saying the top priority is community safety and that air quality is being monitored at the plant site and in the community.

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