Frequently Asked Questions

BioLab supplies swimming pool and spa water treatment products to customers globally.

BioLab’s Conyers facility produces swimming pool and spa water sanitization products. The building impacted in the incident was a warehouse that stored raw materials and components. Production and finished goods distribution facilities at the Conyers site are housed in separate buildings, which were not directly affected.

BioLab’s Conyers facility stores raw materials and packaging components to produce products that consumers use at their homes to clean swimming pools and spas. These raw materials include trichloroisocyanuric acid (“Trichlor” or TCCA), a chemical commonly used to make Chlorinated Tablets to treat swimming pools to control bacteria and algae, and dichloroisocyanuric acid (“Dichlor” or DCCA), used to make swimming pool shock. Other raw materials stored are used to produce products for swimming pool and spa maintenance, such as water balance, pH control and water clarity.

BioLab’s top priority is the community’s safety, and we worked diligently to successfully complete the emergency response operations as part of the Unified Command team led by the Rockdale Fire Department. Our focus now is on our ongoing remediation efforts to clean up the site. We recognize the importance of understanding what caused this incident, and intend to conduct a thorough review, collaborating closely with the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), as it performs its review, as well as with other health and safety agencies.

We are grateful that no employee injuries were reported in connection with the incident at the site.

When the incident occurred, the first, most immediate priority was to extinguish the fire at the warehouse, which stored raw chemicals and components. The fire and the water used to extinguish it resulted in smoke emanating from the facility. Additionally, when the chemicals stored in our facility come into contact with water, they slowly release chlorine – as they are intended to do when sanitizing a swimming pool. This release, and the water that was needed to control it, contributed to the visible haze that was over our facility.

On October 17, the Unified Command announced the successful completion of emergency response operations after the EPA had recorded no air quality exceedances in the community in the preceding 72 hours.

Unified Command was established to coordinate the incident response. The group was led by the Rockdale County Fire Department and comprised representatives from U.S. EPA, Georgia Environmental Protection Division, Rockdale County, and BioLab.

On October 17, the Unified Command announced the successful completion of emergency response operations at BioLab’s Conyers facility. With this phase completed, the Unified Command was disbanded, and BioLab has shifted its focus to ongoing remediation efforts to clean up the site under the continuing oversight of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

During the emergency response phase, which was successfully completed on October 17, BioLab worked diligently as part of the Unified Command and under the Rockdale Fire Department’s leadership to address the fire at our warehouse. To bolster these efforts, we brought in two specialist hazmat crews from Mississippi and Louisiana, two water management companies, and technical chemical specialists.

During this period, air quality was monitored at our Conyers site and in the community by BioLab and the U.S. EPA. The U.S. EPA took the lead in overseeing community air monitoring and uploaded air monitoring data to its public website. Rockdale County also routinely tested the drinking water and over the course of the emergency response reported that Rockdale County’s drinking water was safe.

Since the completion of the emergency response operations, air monitoring in the community and at the site during work hours has continued, with community monitoring led by one of our contractors and overseen by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. In addition, our debris removal service assisted community members with clearing fire debris from their private property and removed debris carried off-site by the wind from public areas and roads.

Our Executive Leadership Team was present in Conyers during the response and continues to engage directly with local representatives and stakeholders on how we can best support the community.

This was a complex process that required careful planning and execution to ensure worker and public safety, and was led by the Unified Command response team. The most immediate priority was to extinguish the fire at the warehouse, which stored raw chemicals and components. Once the fire was extinguished, we focused on neutralizing or securing the remaining reactive material in order to remove the source of chlorine releases.

We are grateful to the Unified Command team, first responders, and Rockdale County leadership, who worked tirelessly with BioLab and the technical specialists we deployed to get us to this next important stage of remediation, which will involve continued cleanup at the site.

With the emergency response phase concluded and the Unified Command disbanded, BioLab has shifted its focus to ongoing remediation efforts to complete clean up at the site. Overseen by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, this will include offsite treatment, disposal, or recycling of remaining material and building debris at appropriately permitted facilities, remediation of the adjacent stormwater retention basin, and continued air monitoring onsite and in the community, as needed.

Trichloroisocyanuric acid (“Trichlor” or TCCA) and dichloroisocyanuric acid (“Dichlor” or DCCA) are stored in supersacks, which are large, industrial grade bags. This has been the longstanding practice in the industry.

On October 17, the Unified Command announced the successful completion of emergency response operations at BioLab’s Conyers facility, and Rockdale County lifted the shelter-in-place order for the entire county. Before the shelter-in-place advisory was ended, U.S. EPA had reported 72 hours of no air quality exceedances at any location in the community.

It’s always best to refer to your local county officials – including updates from Rockdale County – and the EPA, who make public health and safety recommendations. If you are or have been experiencing any symptoms that concern you, we recommend that you reach out to a healthcare professional.

BioLab moved quickly to establish a number of initiatives to support the community:

• Our dedicated call center assisted with processing claims, as well as answering general questions. In the months since the fire, area residents and business owners were able to reach a live representative, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.
• Our local Community Assistance Center in Conyers was established to provide a central in-person location for area residents and business owners to directly access information and resources coordinated by BioLab. The Center is open only to distribute checks for claims for which payments have been approved. Additional information on claims can be found here. Community members with approved payments should only report to the Center when they are notified by their adjuster that their check is ready for pickup. Please note the Center is no longer managing claims onsite.
• Our Community Liaison – who is a highly experienced BioLab employee and resident of Conyers – is on-the-ground engaging with residents and local businesses to answer questions and understand how BioLab can best support our community.
• Our debris removal service was made available to community members who wished to have fire debris cleared from their private property. Over the course of four weeks, this service removed debris from more than 130 properties, in addition to clearing debris from public areas and roads carried off-site by the wind.

We have made donations to local organizations to support their own efforts to assist area residents, as well as provided volunteers and other forms of assistance, including over the 2024 holiday season.

BioLab cares deeply about the community and will continue to partner with local organizations moving forward. Additional information can be found here.

Reflecting the steady decrease in the volume of incoming new claims, BioLab is no longer accepting new claims through its community-assistance programs as of December 31, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET. All claims that were submitted on or before this deadline will be processed as usual.

Community members with claims that were submitted on or before the December 31 deadline should continue to work directly with their assigned adjuster until their claim is processed.  Any individuals who need to contact their adjuster but do not have the relevant contact information should call BioLab’s Call Center at (678) 301-2359.

Please note that the Community Assistance Center is open only to distribute checks for claims for which payments have been approved. Community members with approved payments should only report to the Center when they are notified by their adjuster that their check is ready for pickup. The Center is no longer managing claims onsite.

Key contact information can be found here.