Atlanta-area residents have reported a strong smell of chlorine after a fire at a chemical plant caused a toxic reaction 25 miles away.
The town of Conyers has been evacuated and a shelter-in-place order was extended to all of Rockdale County on Monday after a fire at BioLab sent a huge plume of dark smoke into the sky.
While there have been no advisories for Atlanta, social media users in the area say the air smells like chlorine in Fulton County, which is about a 40-minute drive from Conyers.
Residents also say the air is thick with fog, with some reporting discomfort in their eyes, nose and throat, prompting firefighters to use detectors to check air quality in various parts of the city.
‘This cloud just settled across southern Gwinnett. It was literally clear 15 minutes ago,” said one local who shared a photo. ‘Photo of my garden and that’s not normal fog. It smells like chlorine.
A social media user shared the image above and said it was taken this morning about an hour away from Conyers. ‘It smells like pure chlorine,’ they said.
A second X user said: ‘Very alarming scene entering I-20 E this morning. Generalized fog as far as the eye can see. Now I’m in five small spots and all you can smell and taste is the chlorine. It’s thick and overwhelming. mask. Stay home.
“It feels like doomsday stuff is happening,” said a third X user. ‘The biochemical plant explosion in Conyers has covered much of Atlanta. I smell chlorine in the air in John’s Creek and there are a lot of people wearing masks today.”
Another added: “The Old Fourth Ward at Ponce City Market smells like an indoor pool.”
Emergency management officials in Fulton County, which covers much of Atlanta, said people concerned about haze or odor should stay indoors, close windows and doors and turn off air conditioning.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said his office is aware of reports of a toxic odor.
“Atlanta Fire Rescue is going with detectors to various points east to see what’s in the air,” Dickens said in X.
‘The assumption is a change in wind direction blowing some of the debris from the Conyers Fire in our direction. “We will send messages as we get more information.”
Meanwhile, Atlanta Emergency Management said on windows and doors, turn OFF the air conditioning and other ventilation systems.
‘We believe it is related to the BioLab fire, but what we are trying to find out is why we are seeing the change in conditions. The latest plume models indicate that it is moving northeastward, which it clearly is not.
‘This cloud just settled across southern Gwinnett. “It was literally clear 15 minutes ago,” said one Atlanta local.
The fire was brought under control around 4 p.m. Sunday, authorities said.
Several Atlanta counties canceled outdoor activities over concerns about air purity.
“Until air quality improves, we encourage all families and staff to limit time spent outdoors and keep windows and doors closed,” a spokesperson for the Gwinnett County school system said.
Closer to the source of the fire, officials said chlorine, a harmful irritant, had been detected in the air due to the fire at the BioLab plant, Rockdale County government said in a statement Monday morning.
“For everyone sheltering at home, best practice is to turn off the air conditioning and keep windows and doors closed,” the statement said.
BioLab issued a statement addressing the aftermath of the fire on Monday.
“Our top priority is ensuring community safety and our teams are working around the clock to respond to the current situation at our facility in Conyers, Georgia,” the company said.
‘We continue to work collaboratively with first responders and local authorities and have deployed specialized teams from out of state to the site to reinforce and support their efforts. “We are all focused on remedying the situation as quickly as possible.”
The fire was brought under control around 4 p.m. Sunday, authorities said.
Interstate 20, which was closed in both directions in the area on Sunday, was reopened Monday morning, officials said. Some other county roads and county government offices were closed.
People in the northern part of Rockdale County, north of Interstate 20, were ordered to evacuate Sunday, and others were told to shelter in place.
The fire started when a sprinkler failed around 5 a.m. Sunday at the BioLab plant in Conyers, Rockdale County Fire Chief Marian McDaniel told reporters. The malfunction caused the water to mix with a chemical that reacts with the water, producing a plume of chemicals.
McDaniel said there were employees inside the plant, but no injuries were reported.