Shelter-in-place, evacuation orders lifted in Georgia's Rockdale County after chemical fire

Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Georgia's Rockdale County lifted shelter-in-place and evacuation orders after a chemical fire at the BioLab facility in Conyers.

The move will allow about 17,000 who had been ordered to evacuate to return home and move around safely. Officials said Environmental Protection Agency air quality monitoring showed the chemicals have returned to normal.

"Rockdale County Water Resources has tested the water and it is deemed safe," the county said in a statement on Monday. "The EPA will continue to monitor the air quality readings. Citizens can expect to continue to see clouds until [they're] fully dissipated."

County officials said its courthouse and all its facilities, except for Johnson Park, will reopen on Tuesday. They said that all businesses can operate as normal.

The emergency started when a small fire ignited on the roof of the lab facility before dawn on Sunday. Water spraying from a malfunctioning sprinkler came into contact with water-reactive chemicals at the plant, sending a plume of smoke into the air.

While the small fire was contained, a second fire erupted at the plant hours later. The facility's roof had collapsed along with several walls.

"The fire is out but off-gassing remains, primary chlorine," Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency said on X Monday night. "Monitoring stations are set up throughout the metro.

"We have been advised by Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency that 'you may notice chlorine odor in the air. Data suggest that the levels of the chemicals in the air are unlikely to cause harm to most people.'"