Atlanta News category interest

Orders to evacuate and shelter-in-place were lifted in Rockdale County, Ga. on Monday night after authorities deemed the environment safe after a chemical plant fire broke out Sunday morning.

The Environmental Protection Agency, which is monitoring the air for chlorine or hydrochloric acid, said the latest readings found the air quality to be safe for residents to go back. The Rockdale County Water Resources also found the water was safe.

The billowing plume from a chemical plant in Conyers, Ga. about 30 miles east of Atlanta, that officials said contained chlorine, reached parts of Atlanta on Monday, though officials said that it posed no serious safety issues to the city.

While the fire was producing smells, the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department said in a statement that there were “no immediate life safety issues” for the city. Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management said weather conditions tonight could bring back haze, but expect it to clear in the morning on Tuesday.

The agency added that residents may smell a chlorine odor that is “unlikely to cause harm to most people.” It advised people who were concerned about respiratory issues to stay inside, close windows and doors and turn off heating and cooling systems.

The county facilities and businesses can return to normal starting Tuesday.

Schools near the plant were closed on Monday and 17,000 people remained under evacuation orders that were issued on Sunday as officials tried to clean up the chemical product. The Rockdale County Emergency Management Agency extended a shelter-in-place order for about 90,000 residents on Monday.

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