Chlorine products manufacturer BioLab has experienced fires and chemical leaks in the past

“Our top priority is to keep the community safe and our teams are working around the clock to respond to the current situation at our facility in Conyers, Georgia,” BioLab said in a written statement. “We continue to work with first responders and local authorities and have deployed specialized teams from other states to the site to augment and support their efforts. We are all focused on resolving the situation as quickly as possible.”

BioLab is part of Lawrenceville-based KIK Consumer Products, which includes brands such as Comet, Greased Lightning and Spic and Span. KIK acquired BioLab in 2013 to expand its pool and spa treatments business. BioLab has been operating in Conyers since 1973, and incidents at the facility date back decades.

In September 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I-20 was closed for more than six hours due to a chemical reaction causing a cloud of chlorine vapor to rise from the BioLab facility in Conyers. Surrounding businesses were evacuated and residents were asked to shelter in place. Firefighters responded and the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board dispatched a team to investigate the incident. A company spokesman said at the time that the cause was exposure to water within the facility.

According to a complaint report from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, in 2016, the Rockdale County Fire Department responded to a chemical decomposition incident of a swimming pool chemical that emitted smoke at the BioLab facility.

In 2004, a fire that contained about 12.5 million pounds of pool chemicals and oxidizers broke out in a BioLab warehouse at the Conyers facility, prompting thousands of residents to evacuate. People sought shelter at House Elementary and Heritage High School, according to an EPA pollution report.

To fight the fire, an environmental protection company hired excavators and tore down one of the walls of a warehouse to flood the area with water. Georgia EPD investigated drainage issues that resulted in a “significant fish kill” in VFW Lake two days after the fire. Georgia EPD worked with BioLab on the restoration.

“The impact of the cloud was felt more than 50 miles away,” the EPA said on its website.

BioLab had no immediate comment Monday in response to questions about its past incidents.

A BioLab facility in Westlake, Louisiana, also experienced numerous problems.

After Hurricane Laura struck the area in August 2020, a major fire at the BioLab facility in Louisiana caused the release of chlorine gas and caused significant damage to the facility.

The CSB said in a news release about its investigation into the 2020 incident in Louisiana that the facility produces pool and spa chemicals that contain trichloroisocyanuric acid, which, when “contacted with small amounts of water and does not dissolve, causes a chemical reaction.” Reaction that generates heat and causes the decomposition of TCCA, producing toxic chlorine gas.”

The 2020 fire in Louisiana led to supply chain shortages that impacted the pool and spa industry in 2021 and 2022, according to Pool Magazine.

BioLab celebrated a “grand reopening” of its Lake Charles facility in Westlake, Louisiana in November 2022.

“We are pleased to reopen our BioLab facility in time to support the 2023 pool season and fulfill our promise to the Lake Charles community to rebuild,” KIK Consumer Products CEO Michael Sload said in a written statement. “We look forward to continuing our more than 40-year history in Lake Charles for years to come, providing millions of American families with products that help keep their spas and pools safe and clean.”

Then-Director of Operations for BioLab at the Westlake facility, Don Brunette, said in a statement about the reopening in 2022: “We are excited to welcome our team back to our newly constructed facility, which is one of the most modern trichlorine production facilities in the World is.” of the world and even stronger and safer than before.”

In March 2023, a chlorine leak at the same Louisiana plant reportedly caused an hours-long cloud over the town of Westlake.

And in July 2024, a fire at the Westlake facility caused the closure of part of I-10 and a shelter in place, according to news reports.

The CSB identified several safety issues in its 2023 report on the 2020 Louisiana BioLab fire, including the need to prepare for extreme weather conditions, a delay in the company's response, the need for automatic extinguishing systems and the lack of regulation of the chemical as part of the risk management of the EPA rule.