‘Pattern of negligence’: a chemical plant fire in Georgia forces tens of thousands to take shelter

The smell of chlorine pervades Conyers as residents say BioLab's accident was a danger hiding in plain sight

For Vonnetta West the plume of smoke rising in the sky outside her home in the city of Conyers, Georgia, was a sign not just of immediate risk - but a danger that had been hiding in plain sight for years.

The plume was the result of an accident at the BioLab pool and spa chemical company in the city of nearly 20,000 residents about 25 miles east of Atlanta. Tens of thousands of people were impacted by an evacuation order for those immediately nearby or by the wider shelter-in-place order for those further away. The smell of chlorine drifted over much of the Atlanta area.