US Company Faces Fine After Chemical Blaze Leads to Evacuation of 17,000 People

The US Department of Labor has imposed a fine on a company following an investigation that determined improperly stored hazardous chemicals were responsible for a fire at a facility in Conyers, Georgia. The significant blaze at the Bio-Lab Inc. plant in September 2024 led to the closure of nearby roads and the evacuation of approximately 17,000 local residents. Additionally, another 90,000 people east of Atlanta were advised to stay indoors due to the dense, dark smoke billowing from the fire.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a division of the Department of Labor, conducted an inquiry and discovered that the fire started at a warehouse where various chemicals were being stored. OSHA cited Bio-Lab for four serious violations and two less severe ones, imposing a fine of $61,473 (£47,554).

The company was given 15 business days from the receipt of its citation and penalty notice to either comply, request a meeting with OSHA’s area director, or contest the charges before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

At the same time, a separate investigation by the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) is ongoing. The CSB published an update in November 2024, detailing how the fire stemmed from chemicals stored in the warehouse that produced heat, causing a reaction that decomposed the substances and released toxic fumes and flames. The primary chemicals involved were trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCCA), sodium dichloroisocyanurate (DCCA), and bromochloro-5,5-dimethylimidazolidine-2,4-dione (BCDMH). The resultant plumes of smoke contained chlorine and other hazardous materials, significantly affecting the surrounding area.

According to the CSB’s report, the events began early on the morning of 29 September. At around 05:00, an employee assigned to fire watch in the Plant 12 storage area heard a popping sound, initially attributed to wet chemicals. There were no visible flames at this point.

After efforts to isolate the reacting material failed, the employee contacted the second worker on-site. By approximately 05:10, the employee called 9-1-1 as dangerous toxic fumes filled the building. By 06:30, visible flames emerged from the area of the reaction, but were quickly extinguished in under two hours.

Evacuations began around 12:30, following a second, larger fire at Bio-Lab’s Plant 12. This fire was reported as under control by 16:00.

Photo credit: Ben Gray/Atlanta Journal-Constitution. All rights reserved.