Cobb government officials on Monday said that a chemical plant fire in Rockdale County that prompted a shelter-in-place advisory there poses no threat here.
A “public safety alert” was sent out by the Georgia Emergency Management Agency about a “LOCAL AREA EMERGENCY” following a major fire at the BioLab facility.
More than 17,000 people in the vicinity of the plant have been evacuated, and all Rockdale County residents were urged to shelter-in-place Monday afternoon.
The fire broke out on Sunday, and some parts of metro Atlanta were reporting a haze and chemical smells this morning.
But Cobb was not among them, according to the county’s message.
“The alert was sent to anyone within a 50-mile radius of the facility and noted that the chemical levels were unlikely to cause harm to most people.
“Although Cobb County was included in the alert area, the prevailing winds have shifted the fire’s effects away from our region. Out of an abundance of caution, our Emergency Management Agency has coordinated with state and federal officials to conduct air sampling in Cobb County. At this time, there is no indication that the impacts of the Rockdale incident have reached our area.”
The AJC reported that some schools and outdoor activities in Fulton County and DeKalb County were cancelled Monday afternoon and DeKalb officials are testing air quality. Some sampling in the city of Atlanta showed small amounts of chlorine in the air, the newspaper reported.
The fire at BioLab is the third there in the last seven years, according to published media reports.
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