Rockdale County has reinstated its shelter-in-place and evacuation orders after officials say the weather has changed the plume of smoke and chemicals’ path.
On Tuesday morning, Rockdale County said the “plume is banking down and moving throughout the county.”
County officials are asking all residents who see or smell the gas cloud should shelter in place until the cloud moves.
“We are aware and are assessing the situation. The plume has consistently shifted throughout the night. We ask that you shelter in place if the plume moves over your vicinity or if there is a strong odor of chlorine,” the Rockdale County government wrote on its website. “If you have respiratory issues, we encourage you to shelter in place. We will provide an update as quickly as possible.”
The fire and ongoing chemical reactions at the BioLab plant caused a significant stir throughout the area on Sunday and Monday.
A plume of smoke continues to rise from chemical reactions in the burned sections of the plant, but the fire itself was extinguished on Sunday. The current plume is significantly smaller than the one seen over the weekend, which cast a shadow over much of the community.
The effects of the fire were felt beyond Rockdale County. Residents across Gwinnett, DeKalb, Fulton, and other nearby counties reported seeing a haze and experiencing symptoms related to chemical irritants.
Abby Mutic, an assistant professor at Emory School of Nursing, noted, “The eyes, the nose, the respiratory tract, the throat—some have cough with tightness of lungs, and some are experiencing shortness of breath.”
Air quality experts at Georgia Tech confirmed elevated levels of chlorine in the air. “We are indeed finding elevated levels of chlorine in the particulate matter,” said Ted Russell, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the university.
Despite these findings, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and county officials assured the public that the chlorine levels were not high enough to pose a serious threat to most people.
“We’re not seeing levels that exceed our action thresholds, even for sensitive groups,” said Bryan Vasser, on-scene coordinator for the EPA.
