Morgan County is actively monitoring air quality after the BioLab chemical facility caught fire in nearby Conyers Sunday, releasing chlorine and potentially other chemicals into the air.
County manager Adam Mestres said a haze and chlorine smell were reported throughout the county, particularly on Tuesday morning at the county's west end.
Multiple reports have mentioned eye and nasal irritation. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends that if you see or smell chlorine, move away from the chemical or go into your homes; close the doors; close the windows; and turn off any ventilation that would bring in outside air. The EPA hasn’t shared other recommendations, but anyone with difficulty breathing should seek medical treatment.
Mestres said the county regularly updates its Facebook page with announcements from Rockdale County, the EPA, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, and Homeland Security. Morgan County’s Facebook page has also shared the EPA’s air-monitoring tracker, which provides live updates. All announcements can be found at https://bit.ly/4eNdTv8.
“We can only put out as much information as we receive,” Mestres said. “When we get those updates, we push [them] out. The updates we give are what is given to us [by state agencies]. We [will] continue to push out information as we receive it. We’re catching a bit of criticism that [says] the county is not doing enough, but we can only do what we can. I applaud our communications, fire rescue, and all of our first responders for doing what they can to keep the public updated.”