Georgia Today: More chemicals in BioLab plume; Superfund exposure research; High early voter turnout

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, the 2024 Biolab fire released more chemicals than we thought. More than 100,000 people have voted early in the primary runoff election, and if gas prices are hurting your wallet, an electric vehicle might provide long-term relief. 

Corey Cantor: For many drivers, it may be a great option during these periods of higher gas prices. 

Peter Biello: I'm Peter Biello, and this is Georgia Today. 

Story 1

Peter Biello: A new study suggests the chemical plume from the 2024 BioLab fire was more complex than early public warnings indicated, GPB's Pamela Kirkland reports. 

Pamela Kirkland: Inside a trailer in Southeast Atlanta, Georgia Tech professor Greg Huey shows off the same instruments that help produce what researchers say is the first comprehensive scientific analysis of the BioLab plume. 

Greg Huey: We expect to see chlorine, maybe a little bit of bromine, and the largest signals we were clearly seeing in our mass spectrometer were not from chlorine, they were coming from bromine and also other organic compounds. 

Pamela Kirkland: The study, published in Environmental Science and Technology Letters, identified 26 chemical species in the air after the fire. That's a more complex picture than what residents heard in the days after the disaster, when public warnings largely focused on chlorine and chlorine-related compounds. Huey says the chemical bromine's behavior in the atmosphere stood out. It can also affect breathing. 

Greg Huey: Bromine may be a larger public health issue because bromine may travel further distances at night than the chlorine. 

Pamela Kirkland: The study found bromine concentrations exceeded a federal benchmark for short-term exposure and identified a broader mix of chemicals than would be expected from just a chlorine release. Huey said neither BioLab, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, nor Georgia's Environmental Protection Division reached out to him about his research. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is still investigating the fire. For GPB News, I'm Pamela Kirkland. 

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Peter Biello: Six research institutions led by Atlanta's Emory University will use federal funds to investigate exposure from Superfund sites on Georgia's coast. GPB's Sofi Gratas reports the money comes from the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences. 

Sofi Gratas: $15 million over five years will fund Georgia's first superfund research center for work in Glynn County, home to Brunswick and St. Simons Island. There, past industrial manufacturing has exposed the people and the environment to so-called forever chemicals, as well as the understudied pesticide toxaphen. The federal grant will fund more testing and research on how that exposure happens, says Emory's Dana Barr, the center's director. 

Dana Barr: We can prevent further exposure, and then we can try to understand what these chemicals are doing inside their bodies to them. More than anything, I think the people in the area really want answers. 

Sofi Gratas: Georgia Tech, UGA, Spelman College, and the Morehouse School of Medicine are included as funded partners. For GPB News, I'm Sofi Gratas. 

Story 3

Peter Biello: More than 100,000 people already have voted early in the primary runoff election. GPB's Sara Kallis reports. 

Sarah Kallis: Republican ballots far outpaced Democratic ballots on the first day of early voting statewide. Republicans have runoffs for both of their top-of-the-ticket races, Senate and governor. Those races have already been decided for Democrats. Some counties opened polls early and let voters cast their ballots last Friday and Saturday, but Monday marked the first of early voting across the state. Early voting ends on Friday, and Election Day is next Tuesday. You can vote early at any polling place in your county, and you must vote in the same party's primary you chose in May. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis.

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Peter Biello: Two Georgia members of the U.S. House are introducing impeachment resolutions against a federal judge in Atlanta. Athens Republican Andrew Clyde and Walker County Republican Clay Fuller filed the resolutions against U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross. The judge was disciplined after an investigation found she had sex with a police officer in her chambers, attended a partisan political event, and lied to investigators looking into the alleged misconduct. Federal judges are appointed for life and can be removed from the bench only through impeachment. It will be up to the House Judiciary Committee to decide whether to start impeachment proceedings against Ross. 

Story 5 

Peter Biello: The downtown Atlanta highway capping project, known as The Stitch, is still moving forward, despite losing federal funds last year. GPB's Amanda Andrews reports leaders are unveiling a sculpture near the site highlighting the project's goals. 

Amanda Andrews: The Stitch will be 17 acres of housing, parks, and gathering spaces over the interstate to reconnect Midtown and downtown Atlanta. The interactive sculpture features several long, interweaving LED lights connected to an audio receiver that changes the light's color based on vocal pitches. Artist Eddie Farr says he wanted his sculpture to be a point of connection. 

Eddie Farr: So people stop and they, strangers sit next to each other and maybe they are like, "That's a really weird thing to just happen." And it's like, "Yeah," or like, maybe they're like, "That was really beautiful." Like, just encouraging people to talk to somebody they normally wouldn't talk to. 

Amanda Andrews: Phase 1 of the project will be shovel-ready early next year with construction estimated to start in late 2027. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews. 

Story 6

Peter Biello: A South Georgia developer has agreed to pay a $1 million fine to settle charges that it lost or mishandled thousands of archeological and human remains during a construction project. The U.S. Department of Justice and Savannah Land Holdings agreed to the penalty in court filings last week. The government accused the company of violating the Clean Water and National Historic Preservation Acts in constructing a gated residential community in Bryan County called Waterways. The company denies the allegations but has agreed to pay the fine and take measures to protect and repatriate artifacts and remains. In a statement to GPB, an attorney for Savannah Land Holdings wrote that the resolution, quote, "reflects a shared commitment to the responsible protection of historical resources while allowing development of the Waterways project to continue."

Story 7 

Peter Biello: A D.C.-based electric vehicle industry group says Georgia drivers could save up to $2,000 each year if they drive EVs instead of gas-powered vehicles. The Zero Emission Transportation Association compared the average cost of gas to the average cost of residential home EV charging to calculate how much Georgians could possibly save. ZETA's research director Corey Cantor says the electric vehicles themselves are becoming more affordable each year. 

Corey Cantor: So no matter how you look at it, electric vehicles on the macro level are benefiting Georgia's economy. And then for many drivers, it may be a great option during these periods of higher gas prices. 

Peter Biello: AAA reports Georgia's average price for a gallon of regular gas is $3.81. The national average is $4.15. 

Story 8

Peter Biello: The Georgia shrimp season kicked off yesterday with 61 trawlers plying state waters to harvest the coastal delicacy. That number is on par with opening day aerial surveys conducted in recent years by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The season typically runs through December or mid-January. Last year, Georgia harvesters reported landing nearly 3 million pounds of shrimp with a dockside value of more than $12 million.

Story 9

Peter Biello: The president of Cape Verde is the first confirmed head of state expected in Atlanta during the FIFA World Cup. President José María Pereira Neves is scheduled to appear in an investment and business forum at a center supporting Black entrepreneurs on Sunday. The national soccer team for the Portuguese-speaking nation off the west coast of Africa is scheduled to face off against soccer powerhouse Spain the next day. 

Peter Biello: That's a wrap on Georgia Today. More headlines at gpb.org/news and make sure you subscribe to this podcast because we'll be back in your feed tomorrow afternoon. And your feedback is always welcome. It guides our reporting, helps us make this podcast better. Send your feedback to georgiatoday@gpb.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We will see you tomorrow. 

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For more on these stories and more, go to gpb.org/news