Atlanta, GA
BioLab plant fire: More than 90K sheltering in place in Georgia as 'strong chemical smell' enters Atlanta area
Authorities are now reporting a “strong chemical smell” in the Atlanta area following a chemical plant fire east of Georgia’s capital city that has forced more than 90,000 residents to remain sheltered in place Monday after the “harmful irritant chlorine” was detected in the air.
The Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency announced this morning that it is continuing “to investigate the numerous reports of a haze and strong chemical smell across Fulton County, likely related to the BioLab fire” that broke out in Conyers on Sunday. BioLab is a company that produces pool chemicals, according to its website.
“We are aware of the incident in Conyers, Georgia and are working diligently to ensure the safety of those in and around Atlanta,” Mayor Andre Dickens wrote on X. “The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department and the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International airport are conducting air quality control checks.”
The government in Rockdale County, where Conyers is located, ordered residents to remain sheltered in place on Monday after testing from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division revealed the presence of the “harmful irritant chlorine” in the “air emitting from the incident location of BioLab.”
BIOLAB PLANT FIRE: GEORGIA RESIDENTS EVACUATE AS TOXIC SMOKE BILLOWS FROM CHEMICAL-FUELED INFERNO
A large plume of smoke rises above a chemical plant in Conyers, Georgia, on Sunday, Sept. 29. (Alvarez Kennedy/Reuters)
The fire at the BioLab plant began around 5 a.m. on Sunday before being put out later that afternoon. By that point, smoke clouds had been seen emanating from the facility and some residents were ordered to evacuate. Rockdale County Fire Chief Marian McDaniel said that a sprinkler head at the facility malfunctioned and caused “a mixture with a water reactive chemical.”
“Rockdale County Emergency Management Agency, based on information received from the Environmental Protection Division and the Environmental Protection Agency, strongly advises all Rockdale County residents to continue to shelter in place,” Rockdale County government said. “Additionally, in the best interest and safety of the public and all citizens, it is recommended that businesses close operations until shelter-in-place is lifted.
“For everyone sheltering in place, the best practice is to turn the air conditioning off and keep windows and doors shut,” it added.
COLORADO MAN ALLEGEDLY IGNITES MASSIVE FOREST FIRE WHILE TRYING TO CREMATE HIS DOG: REPORTS
The fire began at the BioLab plant in Conyers, Georgia, on Sunday morning. (Ian Stinson via Storyful)
BioLab did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital on Monday.
“Our top priority is ensuring the community’s safety, and our teams are working around-the-clock to respond to the ongoing situation at our facility in Conyers, Georgia,” the company said on its website. “We continue to work collaboratively with first responders and local authorities and have deployed specialized teams from out of state to the site to bolster and support their efforts. We are all focused on remediating the situation as rapidly as possible.”
Officials said Monday that chlorine has been detected in the air near the site of the BioLab plant fire in Conyers, Georgia. (Ian Stinson via Storyful)
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Mayor Dickens wrote on X that “at this time, no warnings or advisories have been issued” in Atlanta.
Fox News’ Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.
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The public is getting its first look at the two pandas that will be heading from China to Zoo Atlanta.
NBC’s Janis Mackey Frayer was able to visit female Fu Shuang and male Ping Ping before they make the nearly 8,000-mile flight. The giant pandas are both 6 years old and are headed to the United States as part of a new decade-long conservation agreement between China and the U.S.
Ping Ping’s keepers say he tends to follow them around, which is atypical behavior for a panda, but may be because of the food they have for him. Fu Shuang — which translates to “double happiness” — is playful, but nervous, and enjoys placing her chin on her paw. She also likes apples and has a penchant for finding them.
“Because we will hide pieces of apples, for example under the tree … she can find them everywhere,” panda keeper Wang Shun told Mackey Frayer, noting her “clever” behavior.
The pandas are part of an international cooperative research agreement on giant panda conservation between Zoo Atlanta and the China Wildlife Conservation Association, a renewal of panda diplomacy between America and China that began in 1972.
“Zoo Atlanta is delighted and honored to yet again be trusted as stewards of this treasured species and to partner with the China Wildlife Conservation Association on the continued conservation and research efforts that are the most important outcomes of this cooperation,” Zoo Atlanta President and CEO Raymond B. King said in a statement in April.
“We can’t wait to meet Ping Ping and Fu Shuang and to welcome our Members, guests, city, and community back to the wonder and joy of giant pandas.”
Pandas are already at zoos in Washington, D.C., and San Diego. Zoo Atlanta maintained a panda agreement with China from 1999 until 2024, when Lun Lun and Yang Yang went back to their home country, along with their two youngest cubs.
Animal behaviorist James Ayala marvels at how pandas mature.
“You see cubs and they seem so cuddly and clumsy and cute. And then they grow up into these big, majestic bears,” he told Mackey Frayer.
Fu Shuang and Ping Ping will be transported further south into a mountainous region where they will be prepped to make the trip to the U.S. It is unknown when they will leave.
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