Emma Bellantoni, Campus Carrier staff writer
Nathanael Mooney, Campus Carrier staff writer
A plant in Conyers, Ga. operated by BioLab, a pool chemical company, caught fire on Sept. 29 and produced a large smoke plume that could be seen from several miles away. The fire was ignited when a sprinkler head malfunctioned causing water to mix with a water-reactive chemical. In the past 20 years, there have been three fires reported at the plant, including the most recent incident.
Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Studies Courtney Cooper is disappointed that BioLab has had another incident.
“[I’m] extremely disappointed to hear that this wasn’t the first time that this company had had an issue, and there was a whole response and write-up last time,” Cooper said. “Did [they] learn from those mistakes? It doesn’t seem like it.”
Some Conyers residents were ordered to evacuate, while others were told to shelter in place. Junior Mallory Johnson has family members who lived near the area at the time of the incident.
“I have an aunt and uncle that live in Conyers, and they were just told to evacuate,” Johnson said. “My family lives really close, but we weren’t told to evacuate.”
A shelter-in-place order is still in effect within a two-mile radius of the fire. Schools in Rockdale County are continuing with remote learning. Many residents of nearby counties smelled chlorine gas in the air for several days after the event.
Deputy Director of the Floyd County Emergency Management Agency Chris Fincher has worked in the state for several years and is an expert on emergency management.
“Our job is to identify and work with other agencies to facilitate planning, training and creating exercises to [be practiced],” Fincher said.
If a similar event happened in Floyd County, a shelter-in-place order would likely be the initial response, according to Fincher. An evacuation order could be necessary depending on the location of the site.
“You can’t cookie cutter any sort of plan, every plan has to be specific to the site,” Fincher said.
The exercises that Fincher creates are implemented to reduce the impact of incidents when they occur and to train specialists to handle them as quickly and as safely as possible.
“Incidents happen,” Fincher said. “That is why we have plans in place. That is why we practice. That is why we have rules of operation.”
Fincher also advocates for public awareness and education when it comes to public safety and emergency management.
“I’ve also started a class for the youth to bring them in, kids 14 to 20, to try to get them a little more knowledgeable,” Fincher said.
Fincher recruits individuals in the community who may be interested in working as a 911 operator, police officer, EMS or firefighter.
Many are concerned about how this event is going to impact the health of nearby residents. Johnson is worried about the chemicals’ effect on air quality.
“Even just a fire is going to affect your respiratory system, so having the chemicals in there is going to make it even worse,” Johnson said.
Many are looking at this incident from an environmental perspective. Johnson, an environmental science minor, is concerned about what these chemicals mean for the ecosystem.
“I think a lot of people my age in general are more concerned about environmental factors,” Johnson said. “I also think since we’re at a college that does offer environmental science and a lot of science [courses], a lot of people are more aware of those health effects and stuff that happens in the environment.”
Though Cooper believes residents could not have done much to prepare, she said environmental awareness could have helped.
“Even if you knew exactly the risk that you were living downwind from this company, this big facility that could catch on fire, everyday awareness about it’s good,” Cooper said. “If you don’t have some sort of action and you’re not convinced that action’s worth doing, there’s a whole chain and risk communication that isn’t working. So, education and awareness important.”
Cooper uses the Toxic Release Inventory, which monitors hazardous chemicals that could endanger health in an area. She encourages her students to use the resource to become more aware of pollutants.
“If you are curious to know what kind of corporations around you, what kind of companies, industries are polluting our environment, because they have permission to pollute to certain levels, you can see all of that in an online, easy to follow interface so you’re at least aware,” Cooper said.