CSB Sends Team to Conyers, GA Fire and Chlorine Release Incident

Yesterday, the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) announced that they had sent a team to investigate the major chemical fire that occurred on September 29 at the Bio-Lab facility in Conyers, GA. According to early news reports (here, here, and here) the incident started out as a minor fire on the roof of the chemical manufacturing facility, but greatly expanded when fire fighting water came into contact with a common pool chemical {trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCCA)}, initiating a chemical decomposition reaction that released chlorine gas (and oxygen, hence the reason that PHMSA classifies the chemical as an oxidizer not an inhalation hazard) into the atmosphere. The incident resulted in the evacuation of 17,000 people, the isolation of an additional 90,000 people under a shelter-in-place warning, and the closure of I 20.

The announcement reports that:

“The CSB has investigated the Bio-Lab facility [link added] in Conyers before.  In September 2020, the CSB investigated a chemical reaction and decomposition at the facility which released a plume of hazardous chemicals, including chlorine, that exposed Bio-Lab personnel and nine firefighters to dangerous fumes.  Surrounding businesses in the area were evacuated, and a portion of Interstate 20 near the facility was closed for six hours.”

The fact that the CSB has sent a team to the Conyers, GA site does not necessarily mean that the agency will conduct an official investigation that will result in formal report. Since the CSB is not a regulatory agency, there is no requirement for an investigation in every significant incident. I suspect, however, that in this case, with the wide-spread, on-going news coverage, and the significant off-site impact, that the agency will conduct a formal investigation. And, of course, it would allow them to once again hit at the EPA and OSHA for their continued failure to regulate reactive chemical hazards.

While it is late in the swimming pool season, the extensive damage caused by this incident (the news reports indicated that at least one building on site has collapsed), will be expected to have a major impact on the availability of pool/spa disinfectant chemicals into (and probably through) next year.