The Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency has issued a local area emergency in metro Atlanta following a Conyers fire.
The state agency issued the alert on Monday following the fire at Biolab, a Rockdale County facility that produces pool chemicals. In a text alert, the agency said:
The EPA is MONITORING air quality for CHLORINE AND RELATED COMPOUNDS. Chemical levels are UNLIKELY TO CAUSE HARM TO MOST PEOPLE.
At least 17,000 residents were evaluated after the fire. Thousands more were asked to shelter in place.
In a release, the city of Atlanta said it had received reports that the fire produced smells in Atlanta as far as East Point, College Park, Dekalb County, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department has been conducting air quality tests throughout the city.
AFRD is focused on potential volatile organic compounds, chlorine, hydrogen sulfide, oxygen and carbon monoxide levels. Officials said that no immediate life safety issues have been identified based on the latest tests.
Officials said that the haze observed earlier is also beginning to clear from the city.
City officials also requested further testing from the Environmental Protection Division around AFRD stations 4, 13, 12, and 18. Atlanta officials said they also await guidance from the Fulton County Health Department and the Georgia Department of Public Health.
Oddly, the Rockdale County Emergency Management Agency said it was canceling National Preparedness Day because of the fire.
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