BioLab partially reopens after chemical fire, leaving Conyers residents uneasy

Caption

Conyers resident Madelyne Reece speaks at a protest against BioLab on Oct. 19

Credit: Pamela Kirkland, GPB

Six weeks after a massive fire at the BioLab plant released chemicals into the air, triggering evacuations and weeks of shelter-in-place notices, the company has partially reopened its Conyers facility to fulfill customer orders. 

“BioLab’s Distribution Center at Conyers was cleared by relevant authorities and regulators to reopen on Nov. 4 and resume fulfilling customer orders for finished products, which are used to clean pools and spas,” the company posted on it’s community resource website. 

Manufacturing remains on hold at the facility. The statement went on to say that “any resumption of operations will only be undertaken with approval from authorities and regulators.”

Local residents are concerned about the reopening. 

Madelyne Reece, a Conyers resident, voiced frustration with BioLab’s reopening plans. 

“[BioLab] thought once the plume was gone that everybody was just going to move on and we're not doing that,” Reece said. “We as a community are fed up and we're angry and we're not going to go quietly as they try to get this back up and running again.”

Another resident, Michael LeBlanc, who lives about a mile from the plant, said he’s more concerned about the uncertainty around the future of BioLab in Conyers. 

“It’s still up in the air whether it is going to become business as usual,” he said. “The moment that we start seeing them rebuilding is the moment I think we’re all going to go, ‘Hey, wait a minute.’ But I don't think we're there yet.”

Since the Sept. 29 fire, BioLab says it has completed initial site stabilization and is working with regulators before considering any manufacturing restart. The company has fielded more than 15,000 community calls and established a dedicated Community Assistance Center to address claims.

Rockdale County officials have taken legal action, filing a federal lawsuit against BioLab and its parent company, KIK Consumer Products, seeking damages tied to the incident.