A fire that began Sunday morning at the BioLab Plant in Rockdale County, Georgia resulted in the release of a statewide emergency alert via cellphones warning Georgians that chlorine gas had been released into the air. The alert also stated that “chemical levels are unlikely to cause harm to most people.”
About 17,000 people were evacuated from the Rockdale area.
As of Monday afternoon, the Athens-Clarke County Emergency Management Department says that no threat is posed to the Athens-area.
Curt Harris is the director of the Institute for Disaster Management, Health Policy & Management, Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Georgia. He says public health experts will be looking for specific indicators to tell whether Athens-area residents need to take steps to protect themselves as the situation evolves.
“We always want to know what is being released from that chemical plant. And then also wind direction.”
He says that Georgians should be paying attention to specific organizations for information.
“You can always go to the poison control center. They have a hotline where you can call in to receive information about any type of chemical exposure. GEMA Homeland Security also puts out information that relates to disasters of this type, so I would be looking at all of those.”
There are also ways to prevent exposure to chlorine gas.
“If you’re in your car and you’re driving and you see it, there could be discoloration in the air, you want to shut off your HVAC system and roll up your windows.”
Similar steps should be taken in homes to close windows and turn off air conditioning. Harris suggests putting wet towels to block gaps in windows and doors.
