More than 90,000 residents taking shelter after chemical fire

CONYERS, Georgia, USA (AP):

A weekend fire that sent a massive plume of dark smoke into the Georgia sky has led to complaints about a strong chemical smell and haze several miles away across metro Atlanta, where some schools cancelled outdoor activities, and others closer to the fire remained stuck at home, sheltering from the outdoor air.

More than 90,000 residents east of Atlanta were told to keep sheltering in place Monday, a day after the chemical plant fire.

The haze and chemical smell had spread to Atlanta by Monday morning, prompting firefighters to use detectors to check the air quality in various parts of the city, Mayor Andre Dickens said.

Closer to the source of the fire, officials said chlorine, a harmful irritant, had been detected in the air from the fire at the BioLab plant in Conyers, Georgia, the Rockdale County government said in a statement Monday. The plant is about 25 miles (40 kilometres) southeast of downtown Atlanta.

People in the northern part of Rockdale County, north of Interstate 20, were ordered to evacuate on Sunday, and others were told to shelter in place.

Sheriff’s office spokesperson Christine Nesbitt did not know the number of people evacuated although it covered a large portion of the community of Conyers. Media reports said the number was about 17,000.

Emergency officials are telling residents near the plant to shelter in place. The best practice is to “turn the air conditioning off and keep windows and doors shut”, Rockdale County officials said.

Emergency-management officials in Fulton County, which encompasses much of Atlanta, said people with concerns about the haze or smell should follow the same advice: stay indoors, close their windows and doors, and turn off the air conditioning.

Residents of at least three large counties in metro Atlanta – Fulton, DeKalb, and Gwinnett counties – on Monday reported seeing a haze or the strong smell of chlorine.