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  • Support GPB Today
  • New Podcast: Manufacturing Danger: The BioLab Story
  • TV Highlights This Week

News Articles: Rockdale County

The BioLab plant in Conyers, Ga. is seen on Dec. 18, 2024, nearly three months after a Sept. 29 fire that left a weekslong chemical plume in the area.

Tagged as: 

  • News

Georgia chemical plant halts production following leak investigation

After a September fire, chemical maker BioLab is closing its plant in metro Atlanta's Rockdale County.

May 16, 2025
|
By:
  • Pamela Kirkland and
  • Orlando Montoya
Some residents east of Atlanta were evacuated and others told to shelter in place after a fire at a chemical plant.

Tagged as: 

  • News

Manufacturing Danger: The BioLab Story - "I Don’t Know What I’ve Been Exposed To"

In Episode 5 of Manufacturing Danger: The BioLab Story, residents of Rockdale County share disturbing health symptoms they say began after the BioLab chemical fire — from high blood pressure to respiratory issues and chronic fatigue. We investigate what’s behind these symptoms, speaking with medical experts and community leaders launching a long-term health study.

May 05, 2025
|
By:
  • Pamela Kirkland
BioLab’s Conyers facility, operated by KIK Consumer Products, on April 3, 2025.

Tagged as: 

  • News

OSHA blames chemical storage for BioLab fire. A former worker says she had safety concerns

OSHA cites BioLab for chemical storage violations tied to 2024 Conyers fire, proposing over $61,000 in fines.

April 08, 2025
|
By:
  • Pamela Kirkland
The BioLab facility in Conyers, Georgia, as seen on October 19, 2024. The plant remains partially closed following a chemical fire on September 29, 2024 that forced thousands of residents to evacuate.

Tagged as: 

  • News

Federal investigation Into BioLab fire could take up to 18 months

Federal investigators say it could take up to 18 months to complete their investigation into the fire at BioLab’s Conyers facility.

March 10, 2025
|
By:
  • Pamela Kirkland
The BioLab plant in Conyers, Ga. is seen on Dec. 18, 2024, nearly three months after a Sept. 29 fire that left a weekslong chemical plume in the area.

Tagged as: 

  • News

BioLab offers voluntary severance packages as facility remains partially closed

The BioLab facility in Conyers is offering voluntary severance packages to employees seeking other job opportunities as the plant remains partially closed.

February 27, 2025
|
By:
  • Pamela Kirkland
Community Action NOW! founder Iffat Walker with James Washington, research administrator at the Morehouse School of Medicine.

Tagged as: 

  • News

New study to track long-term health effects of BioLab fire in Conyers

A new, three-year study aimed at tracking the long-term health effects of last year’s chemical fire at the BioLab plant in Conyers will start next month.

February 25, 2025
|
By:
  • Pamela Kirkland
Former Rockdale County Fire Chief Marian McDaniel speaks during a press conference addressing the fire at the BioLab fire on Sept. 29, 2024.

Tagged as: 

  • News

Rockdale County's fire chief resigns months after BioLab fire

Her departure comes months after a chemical fire at the BioLab facility in Conyers, Ga., where cleaning products for swimming pools and spas are produced.

February 05, 2025
|
By:
  • Pamela Kirkland
The BioLab plant in Conyers, Ga. is seen on Dec. 18, 2024, nearly three months after a Sept. 29 fire that left a weekslong chemical plume in the area.

Tagged as: 

  • News

Georgia lawmakers press BioLab parent company for updates on Conyers fire investigation

Members of Georgia’s congressional delegation are calling on KIK Consumer Products, the parent company of BioLab, to release updates on its investigation into the chemical fire at its Conyers facility last September.

January 27, 2025
|
By:
  • Pamela Kirkland
Cheryl Garcia at her home in Conyers in December 18

Tagged as: 

  • News

Months after BioLab Fire in Conyers, residents still face health issues

Residents near the BioLab facility in Conyers, Ga., are still grappling with health problems months after a fire at the plant released a plume of chemicals into the air. 

December 19, 2024
|
By:
  • Pamela Kirkland
Black smoke billows into the sky above a Conyers shopping plaza as the BioLab chemical fire burns on September 29, 2024.

Tagged as: 

  • News

‘There's chemical smoke everywhere.’ Hear the 911 call as employee reports the Sept. 29 BioLab fire

Newly released 911 calls and dispatch notes from the Sept. 29 BioLab fire in Conyers, offer a closer look at the early hours of the chemical fire that forced 17,000 evacuations and weeks of shelter-in-place orders.

December 09, 2024
|
By:
  • Pamela Kirkland
A September 29 fire at BioLab in Conyers creates a chemical plume

Tagged as: 

  • News

Conyers residents demand accountability after latest BioLab fire leaves lingering concerns

Weeks after a fire at the BioLab chemical plant in Conyers, residents are still grappling with the aftermath. County officials are suing BioLab and its parent company, seeking damages for those affected. Protesters are demanding the plant’s shutdown after this, the latest in a history of incidents.

October 28, 2024
|
By:
  • Pamela Kirkland
Satellite image of Hurricane Helene on Sept. 26, 2024, via CIRA/NOAA

Tagged as: 

  • News

Georgia Today: President Biden, Donald Trump, Gov. Brian Kemp tour storm damage; Savannah Bananas

On the Friday, Oct. 4 episode of Georgia Today: President Biden visited Valdosta to survey storm damage; former President Trump and Gov. Brian Kemp toured storm damage near Augusta; The Savannah Bananas announced their 2025 tour which includes the home of the Atlanta Braves, Truist Park.

October 04, 2024
|
By:
  • Peter Biello and
  • Jeremy Powell
Some residents east of Atlanta were evacuated and others told to shelter in place after a fire at a chemical plant.

Tagged as: 

  • News

City of Atlanta warns of chlorine smell and hazy conditions from Rockdale BioLab fire to travel

The Office of Emergency Management sent out an alert to warn residents of a chlorine smell and hazy conditions expected to move toward Atlanta on Wednesday night and Thursday as a result of the recent BioLab plant fire in Conyers, Ga.

October 03, 2024
|
By:
  • GPB News Staff
Smoke billows from a fire at the BioLab facility in Conyers, Ga., Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024.

Tagged as: 

  • News

Chemical smoke spewing from a Georgia factory is projected to spread toward Atlanta as winds shift

Authorities say heavy smoke is causing low visibility along Interstate 20 east of Atlanta from chemicals spewing from a beleaguered chlorine facility. Emergency officials warn that smoke from the disaster scene is projected to move toward Atlanta after sunset Wednesday.

October 02, 2024
|
By:
  • Associated Press
View from a Home Depot parking lot as smoke billows from a fire at the BioLab facility in Conyers, Ga., Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Some Georgians asked to stay inside during daylight hours until chlorine plume passes

The Georgia Emergency Management Agency is warning that winds could shift and people in much of Atlanta could still see haze and smell chlorine by Thursday morning. The poor air quality effects come from a chemical reaction Sunday at BioLab, a pool supply manufacturing plant in Conyers.

October 02, 2024
|
By:
  • Ellen Eldridge
  • Load More

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