Manufacturing Danger: The BioLab Story — You Can’t Find What You Don’t Look For

Credit: Mitchell Franklin

In this episode, we revisit the BioLab fire through the eyes of those who refused to stop asking hard questions. You meet Kenny Johnson, a Rockdale County Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor who challenged development decisions and pressed local and federal officials to explain what was in the air and water. His public advocacy put him at odds with decision makers, and months after he warned about permits and erosion control, he died shortly after speaking at the state Capitol. The questions he raised did not die with him.

We follow independent tester Scott Smith to the streets and streams around BioLab, where ash and debris were easy to collect and hard to ignore. Smith describes finding polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and dioxin residues while federal sampling focused on chlorine and hydrochloric acid. Internal communications indicate that officials were aware fires like BioLab’s can generate dioxins, yet public records do not reflect targeted dioxin testing in Conyers. Smith’s mantra is simple: You cannot find what you do not look for.

Credit: Chris Estes

At Georgia Tech, Professor Greg Huey and colleagues share what their instruments captured in Atlanta’s air as the plume moved across the region and why some combustion byproducts can persist. Chemistry educator Pamela Pollet walks us through the inventory puzzle from BioLab’s Plant 12 and explains how trade names and undercounts can distort emergency modeling, evacuation decisions, and long-term monitoring. Together, their work suggests a fuller picture of the plume is still emerging, and communities deserve transparent testing for pollutants that can linger for years.