CONYERS, Ga. — A chemical fire at BioLab over the weekend is reigniting concerns about its safety record in Conyers.
"One time? OK, we get it. But the second, third time — at what point do the officials say wait, 'we have a problem for our community here?'" Sher'ree Kellogg said. "Why are they still in this county? Why are the doors still open?"
Sher'ree and her husband Andre were sheltering in place Monday after the most recent chemical fire. She's concerned that it keeps happening.
The Environmental Protection Agency investigated a fire there in 2004. The Chemical Safety Board noted a similar incident at the facility in 2020.
And, 11Alive uncovered more than a dozen violations reported by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) at the BioLab facility in Conyers, most of them "serious."
They have faced at least $67,000 in fines from OSHA since the 2004 fire.
"I'm very concerned. We have to decide what's good and what's best. Looking at the current situation, if it doesn't turn around, people are going to have to leave the county," Andre Kellogg said. "For them to fail OSHA requirements and still receive those chemicals and still manufacture using chemicals, that is a significant challenge for us."
One OSHA report from 2021 details how a chemical production operator received burns to the "hand and thigh from Sodium Hydroxide."
A 2019 inspection revealed BioLab "did not ensure that employees wearing prescription glasses incorporated the prescription in the eye protection or used protection that can be worn over the prescription lenses."
In February 2017, employees were "exposed to chemicals such as but not limited to BLC-90 (Pool Sanitizer), BioGuard Basic Chlorinating 3" Tablets, Pool Time Shock Plus, and Aquachem Shock Xtra Blue. Employees have not been trained on the safety data sheets to include the pictograms."
The facility had just been inspected the week before after an employee had two fingers caught in a balwin press [sic] and amputated.
"Why would our local officials be OK with that type of a scorecard?" Sher'ree said. "None of us can go to our regular, full-time jobs and have multiple, multiple offenses and still have a job. It's not OK."
11Alive reached out to Kik Consumer Products, which owns BioLab, with questions about its safety history and the Kelloggs' concerns. They did not answer those, but issued a statement earlier in the day saying its "top priority is ensuring the community’s safety.
The following incidents were reported at BioLab or Bio-Lab facilities tied a 1700 Old Covington Highway address by OSHA -- click the panels in the interactive graphic below for more details:
BioLab statement about this history
In a Wednesday statement, a BioLab representative said the prior occurrences listed did not involve the building involved in this situation at the Conyers Facility. The representative said that each had their own root causes and that they were appropriately addressed at the time.
“Over the years, our company has been rigorous about actioning enhancements to our facilities, policies, and practices. Examples of adjustments we have implemented at Conyers include upgrades to our safety equipment, enhanced emergency response protocols, updated housekeeping procedures, and broad training for employees. We also conduct periodic tests and evaluations of our fire protection systems based on industry standards, as well as walk-throughs with the local Fire Department," the statement read.
“BioLab and KIK have a very strong track record of working constructively with relevant regulators and intend to continue doing so at the Conyers site until the incident is fully resolved,” the statement continued.