ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – The Rockdale County Board of Commissioners is filing a federal lawsuit Monday against BioLab and its parent company in an effort to declare the Conyers facility a public nuisance.
The lawsuit will call for BioLab to compensate the county and call for the permanent shutdown of the facility, officials say.
The facility has been in the spotlight since a massive fire broke out at the facility nearly three weeks ago. On the morning of Sept. 29, a sprinkler at the BioLab plant on Old Covington Highway in Conyers malfunctioned and sprayed water on a chemical, causing a reaction that created a large, hazardous plume.
The malfunction also caused a small fire on the BioLab roof, which caused it to collapse. Along with the massive plume, the incident caused a strong chlorine smell for miles. 17,000 people near the facility had to be evacuated, and more than 70,000 others were ordered to shelter in …