ATLANTA — A coalition of community organizers, environmental groups, and local officials are set to hold a press conference Thursday to demand the immediate and permanent closure of the BioLab facility in Conyers.
The call comes in response to a recent fire that leaders said continues to release hazardous chemicals, including toxic chlorine gas, affecting communities across the metro Atlanta area. Leaders are expected to gather at 2:30 p.m. at the Georgia State Capitol.
Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) said air quality tests have shown that toxin levels are below dangerous thresholds, but residents remain worried.
Representatives from the Black Futurists Group, Georgia Conservation Voters, Sierra Club Georgia Chapter, South River Watershed Alliance, Community Action NOW!, along with state legislators and other local leaders, will gather on the South Wing stairs of the Capitol to address what they are calling "A Crisis Beyond Rockdale: The Failure of Corporate Accountability and Environmental Justice."
“For too long, BioLab has been allowed to operate with impunity, releasing dangerous chemicals into our communities, disproportionately impacting Black and brown working-class neighborhoods," said Rev. Keyanna Jones Moore of the Sierra Club Georgia Chapter. "This is not just a Rockdale County issue: Smoke from this fire does not follow county borders, and families miles away from Conyers woke up to clouds of chlorine on Monday.”
This recent fire is the fourth significant incident at BioLab in the past two decades, raising concerns about the facility’s safety and its impact on the surrounding communities. Leaders point to a history of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) violations, fines, and investigations by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Chemical Safety Board but say these have done little to prevent repeated disasters.
"BioLab is a stark example of what happens when federal and state regulators skirt their responsibility to the public and let corporate profits be placed above the health of our communities,” said Devin Barrington-Ward, a community organizer with the Black Futurists Group. “The people of Metro Atlanta deserve better!”
The coalition argues that closing BioLab is only one step in addressing a much larger problem. They are calling for broader reforms, including stronger enforcement of safety regulations and policies aimed at preventing industrial pollution in marginalized communities.
"The working people of Metro Atlanta and beyond deserve clean air, clean water, and the freedom to live without fear of corporate pollution poisoning our communities," said Georgia State Representative Jasmine Clark. “We demand accountability and a future where our environment and public health come before corporate profits.”
