CONYERS, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia county is preparing a federal lawsuit that aims to shut down the BioLab chemical factory where a fire sent a toxic chemical cloud over Atlanta's suburbs last month, the latest in a series of hazardous incidents that have forced many to evacuate.
“We want them gone,” Rockdale County Commissioner Sherri Washington said at a press conference Monday.
“For three weeks, I have listened to the numerous physical, mental, and emotional tolls that this company’s negligence has caused our residents," she said. "And I will fight until my last breath to have them removed.”
Rockdale residents and business owners have filed more than a dozen lawsuits since the fire. The county plans to file its suit once commissioners approve a contract with a legal firm at their Tuesday meeting. Commissioners hope to hold BioLab and its parent company, KIK Consumer Products, accountable for negligence and misconduct, in part through remediation and compensation for damages to the affected areas and residents.
BioLab did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
BioLab, which makes pool chemicals, has operated in the county since 1973 and records show it is one of its biggest employers, contributing nearly 3% of the assessed value of the county’s tax base, larger than any other taxpayer in Rockdale, The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.
But accidents have repeatedly taken a toll, with hazardous incidents in 2020, 2016 and 2004 also forcing people to evacuate or shelter in place.
Last month's fire at the plant in Conyers, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of downtown Atlanta, spread a strong chemical smell and haze across a wide area. Authorities ordered about 17,000 Rockdale County residents to evacuate and more than 90,000 people to shelter in place, forcing businesses to close and schools to cancel outdoor activities.
BioLab has said it will remediate the situation, and opened a Community Assistance Center last week for residents and business owners to file claims. A company statement says the center has assisted about 300 community members, and that a 24/7 company call center has helped more than 7,500 callers with claims and reimbursements.
Attorney Shayna Sacks from New York law firm Napoli Shkolnik, which is working with the county, said Rockdale is open to negotiations if they lead to “swift and just resolutions” that address the county's concerns.
“Our goal is not only to address the immediate issue, but also to set a precedent that enhances corporate responsibility and accountability as it relates to our environment and community,” Sacks said.
FILE - Smoke billows from a fire at the BioLab facility in Conyers, Ga., Sept. 29, 2024. (Ben Gray/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, file)
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Hours before King Charles III was due to arrive in Australia last week, lawmaker Patrick Gorman posted on social media offering free printed portraits of the British royal for any constituents who visited his office in Perth to claim one.
Gorman, an assistant minister in Australia’s federal government, told The Associated Press that “a number” of eager constituents sought one.
The photos of King Charles are available under a little-known government policy that says every Australian can request, and receive, a portrait of their monarch.
It's unusual in a nation where leaders are increasingly ambivalent about the British royals as Australia’s heads of state.
Elsewhere, British institutions can apply for portraits of King Charles, but individuals usually cannot. In New Zealand, free portraits are available for digital download only. Canadians can receive a printed copy from a monarchist organization if they pay for postage.
But Australians can visit their federal representative’s office and ask for one.
Demand spiked for portraits of Queen Elizabeth II following her death in 2022.
Australian government documents from nearly a year later, released by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, show officials were still waiting for an official portrait of King Charles to be supplied by Buckingham Palace.
That portrait was provided to Australia this July. Since then, more than 17,000 copies have been distributed to lawmakers, the Department of Finance told the AP.
Numbers were not available for how many had been requested by the public.
Lawmakers, at times exasperated, can field dozens of requests each time the program is publicized.
Tim Watts, now associate minister for foreign affairs, wrote on social media in 2018 that fulfilling requests for portraits was “comfortably the dumbest part of my job.”
But while those seeking the images might at times, as Watts noted, have their “tongue firmly in cheek," Gorman said there was legitimate interest, too.
He said he had supplied 85 of the King Charles portraits since they became available, and said colleagues in parliament told him they have had “strong interest” as well.
People wait to see Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla outside Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (David Gray/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's King Charles III, and Queen Camilla greets by public at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker, Pool)
Britain's King Charles III, and Queen Camilla greets by public at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker, Pool)
Britain's King Charles III, center, and Queen Camilla arrive at Defense Establishment Fairbairn in Canberra, Australia, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (Saeed Khan/Pool Photo via AP)
A Nationhood pack is seen in Sydney, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, which includes a portrait of Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla that are available under a little-known government policy that says every Australian can request, and receive, a portrait of their monarch. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
