Washington, D.C. –– U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock and Congressman Hank Johnson are pressing for updates into the investigation of the September 29 chemical fire at the BioLab-Conyers facility, which impacted families in Rockdale County and across Metro Atlanta.
Sens. Ossoff and Rev. Warnock and Rep. Johnson launched an inquiry with KIK Consumer Products, which owns the BioLab plant, urging the company to strengthen transparency around the public health impacts of the fire and to extend the deadline for families to submit reimbursement claims to KIK.
According to a November report by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, the BioLab incident resulted in 17,000 evacuations, closures on I-20, and local shelter-in-place notifications.
“You and your staff have publicly expressed a desire to “address the needs of impacted area residents and business owners” following that incident,” the group wrote to KIK Consumer Products CEO Michael Sload. “It has been three months since the incident; we request specific information regarding your efforts to do so.”
As part of the inquiry, Sens. Ossoff and Rev. Warnock and Rep. Johnson specifically pressed the company for additional information regarding steps they are taking to support families in Rockdale County who are still being affected by this incident.
“Families in Rockdale County are concerned about the long-term impacts of this incident on their physical health and personal property. Therefore, we urge you to make the results of the debris testing publicly available and work with relevant State and Federal agencies to assist the public in understanding those results,” they wrote.
“You committed to reimbursing Rockdale County residents for ‘a variety of expenses stemming from the incident including lodging, food, childcare, pet care, and out-of-pocket medical expenses.’ However, you failed to address specific questions regarding the number of reimbursements that have been requested, denied, and approved,” the group continued. “We request that you provide us with data regarding the number of reimbursements that have been requested, denied, and approved so that we may properly assess the degree to which BioLab is honoring its commitments to community members.”
Click here to read Sens. Ossoff and Rev. Warnock and Rep. Johnson’s inquiry.
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