BioLab Ends Manufacturing in Conyers After Chemical Fire Exposed Thousands to Toxic Contamination
Updated
BioLab announced it will not restart manufacturing at the Conyers, Georgia, facility where a major chemical fire occurred last fall. The company will continue to use the facility as a distribution center with 100 employees. The HighWire reported about the September fire, which included 17,000 evacuations and 90,000 ordered to shelter in place.
Last month, Government Accountability Project Whistleblower Scott Smith revealed his initial testing data from the chemical fire and found dioxin levels magnitudes higher than those in East Palestine. Specifically, Smith tested residue from a car windshield in Conyers that was 752% more dioxins than the residue from a porch table in East Palestine.
BioLab was fined $61,000 by the U.S. Department of Labor for improperly storing hazardous chemicals that caused resident illnesses 20 to 30 miles away from the facility. BioLab is located in Conyers, about 22 miles away from Atlanta. While residents are happy that the manufacturing portion of the business is closing down in Conyers, they are still concerned about the continued use of the facility as a distribution center that stores hazardous chemicals. The improper storage of the chemicals led to the harmful environmental exposure to at least 107,000 residents in the region.
BioLab said in a statement, “After taking steps to meet customer needs through alternative production, and in considering our future business needs carefully, we have made the difficult decision to not restart manufacturing at the Conyers plant.”
The statement continued, “In light of our difficult decision to not restart manufacturing in Conyers, we will be eliminating certain roles at the plant. A subset of employees that supported manufacturing operations will remain with the company to assist with transition activities, and employees supporting the distribution center will not be impacted as it continues to operate as usual. We are grateful for the contributions of all our employees during this time, and are providing support to those impacted as they transition from the business.”
Biolab is a subsidiary of Kik Consumer Products, which has an approximate annual sales revenue of $2 billion. The Conyers Biolab facility has had four fires in 20 years, and the Louisiana facility has had three fires in the last four years.
The EPA does not require BioLab to have a Risk Management Plan (RMP) because the chemicals stored in the facility are not considered “extremely hazardous” by the EPA. These standards do not consider the hazardous byproducts that are created by reactive chemicals and “synergistic toxicity.”
A former resident, Hannah Lloyd, told The HighWire that she had to move away four months after the fire and would have died if she stayed. “I have been further tested and have permanent deep damage to my lungs, lymphatic system, and endocrine system,” Lloyd said. “I’m also being tested by my new doctors to try to keep some sort of normalcy. Same with my daughter, who is almost 4, her lungs were severely impacted. I went to the last town hall and came back so sick. I spent two weeks detoxing and sleeping off the symptoms. It’s awful, it’s almost worse when you go back into it. I’m not sure how people are living in that.”
Multiple residents have made similar statements about their own health concerns in social media groups. One resident who lived 16 miles northwest of the facility had to leave the state due to severe symptoms, including breathing difficulty, throwing up, passing out, randomly falling down, chest pains, bloody nose, double-vision, and chemical burns.
The company established a community resource website and center following the hazardous chemical fire. The company released a statement that says, “In the six months following the incident, we responded to more than 43,000 calls and 18,000 emails, as well as helped 5,000 individuals through our in-person Community Assistance Center. In May 2025, we completed the remediation and cleanup of the facility affected by the fire. Moving forward, we will continue to partner with local organizations to support the community.”
Georgia State Representative of Rockdale Soil and Water Conservation, Kenny Johnson, spoke out against BioLab at a hearing nine days after the chemical fire. He said, “850 million dollars of our taxes went to this company to kill us. Y’all are in charge. Y’all our elected officials. We need a federal criminal investigation.” Johnson had difficulties breathing during his testimony. He collapsed moments later and passed away later that day at the hospital.
In addition to calling for a criminal investigation, Johnson cautioned the people of Rockdale County that the chemical exposure will cause death and advised everyone to go to the doctor to be evaluated for toxins. After consulting with the family, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations determined an autopsy was unnecessary. A cause of death has not been revealed.
Multiple class action lawsuits were filed against Kik Consumer Products and BioLab. A federal judge consolidated the lawsuits in November, but there are no recent updates regarding the case. Rockdale County announced a federal lawsuit against Kik Consumer Products and BioLab in December. The county alleges that BioLab was negligent and violated the Clean Air Act while causing a public and private nuisance to the community. There are no updates on this case.
Scott Smith is going back to Conyers for another town hall to inform the residents about potential dangers and effects of the chemical exposure they experienced. Smith has been in Moss Landing, California testing for “expanded metals, dioxins, SVOC’s / PAH’s, and PFAS testing on surfaces, in water, and in soil.” In January, a fire happened at the Vistra Energy Storage Facility, which houses over 110,000 lithium-ion battery modules. The HighWire reported about the state of emergency and the concerns regarding produce that is grown in the Salinas Valley, known as the “Salad Bowl of America.”
Smith will be returning to Moss Landing for a town hall on June 1. This is the 79th chemically-impacted community Smith has visited since 2006 to provide independent testing services. The HighWire spoke with Smith last year about an alleged EPA cover-up in East Palestine.
