The Mayor of Atlanta, Chlorine Smell from Conyers BioLab, responds

ATLANTA – As a chemical cloud continues to billow over Conyers following a fire Sunday at a BioLab facility, many in Atlanta reported the smell of chlorine in the air Monday morning.

The town of Conyers has been evacuated and all of surrounding Rockdale County is under a shelter-in-place order.

RELATED: Conyers chemical flag following BioLab fire updates | Chlorine in the air, statewide shelter-in-place in Rockdale continues

In Atlanta, Mayor Andre Dickens responded to a post about the smell of chlorine by saying firefighters were out with detectors to see what was in the air.

“This has been brought to our attention,” the mayor said in a response to Anthony Michael Kreis, a Georgia State law professor. “Atlanta Fire Rescue is out with detectors at various locations across the east to see what is in the air. A change in wind direction is believed to be blowing some of the Conyers fire remnants our way. We will post notifications as we receive more information.”

The cloud emanating from the construction site in Conyers was still significant Monday morning, traffic cameras showed.

In a statement, a spokesperson for BioLab said representatives were “actively responding to the situation.” The spokesman said employees were “accountable and no injuries were reported.” BioLab said it has a team on site working with first responders and local authorities to assess and contain the situation.

“As always, the safety of our community is our top priority,” the statement said.

District officials said a sprinkler head malfunctioned around 5 a.m., creating a mixture containing a “water-reactive chemical,” which in turn started a small fire on the building's roof. The fire was contained and extinguished, but reignited around midday. The fire was extinguished again around 3:30 p.m.

The persistent chemical plume emanating from the site is due to water continuing to react with chemicals, officials said.

Rockdale officials said this was the third incident at the plant in seven years in which products mixed with water and caused a chemical reaction.

Similar incidents have occurred in the past, including a serious one in 2004.

According to its website, BioLab is based in Lawrenceville and is the “swimming pool and spa water care division of KIK Consumer Products.”

The company makes brands like BioGuard and SpaGuard and claims to be “pioneering computerized water testing and the 3-step system for pool and spa care.”

RELATED: A similar situation with chemical fires and clouds of smoke occurred in the BioLab in Conyers in 2004 Here's what happened

A similar fire and resulting chemical cloud occurred in a BioLab building in Conyers in 2004 – it is unclear whether the current situation is at the exact same location or perhaps at a newer building.

In 2004, BioLab was owned by Chemtura, a conglomerate that went bankrupt and was later acquired by a German company called Lanxess. According to its website, BioLab is now owned by KIK Consumer Products, through a sale of Chemtura several years earlier when Chemtura was acquired by Lanxess.