Rockdale County Soil & Water Supervisor Passes Away After Testimony About BioLab Fire
Written by Andrew Unterberger on October 10, 2024
A Georgia county official died on Wednesday (Oct. 9) after speaking out about the incident at BioLab last month. Kenny Johnson was the Rockdale County Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor. Johnson collapsed at Georgia’s Capitol building after he, business owners, and leaders testified about the chemical plant fire, per The Associated Press.
RELATED: More Than 90,000 Georgia Residents Reportedly Impacted After Fire At Chemical Plant BioLab (PHOTOS)
More Details On Kenny Johnson’s Death
At this time, Johnson’s cause of death has not been revealed. Additionally, it’s unclear if the Rockdale County official spent any time in the BioLab vicinity following the fire.
According to the Georgia House Democratic Caucus, the 62-year-old Johnson “complained of shortness of breath and subsequently collapsed in the hallway” after the meeting, per Fox 5 Atlanta.
Additionally, State Rep. Viola Davis, who is a nurse, administered CPR until medical officials arrived. Emergency responders rushed Kenny Johnson to Grady Memorial Hospital. However, he died later that day.
“Kenny dedicated years as the Soil and Water Conservation District representative and as an environmental justice advocate,” Senator Davis said. “His unwavering commitment to environmental justice and his testimony on the effects of the Biolab chemical fire on the community remain etched in our memories.”
Kenny’s body will undergo an autopsy spearheaded by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, per Fox 5. Watch state lawmakers discuss the BioLab incident below.
Here’s What Happened With BioLab
The BioLab plant is located in Conyers, about 25 miles east of Atlanta. As previously reported, the fire began after a sprinkler head malfunction at approximately 5 a.m. on Sept. 29. The malfunction caused water to mix with a water-reactive chemical, producing a plume of chemicals.
From Aimee Baker “My husbands a fireman and took these pictures of his view of the fire in Conyers GA” pic.twitter.com/fMx0GHoFxZ
— James Spann (@spann) September 29, 2024
In the hours after the fire on Sunday, Sept. 29, hazardous plumes spread into neighboring counties. According to the AP, emergency responders got it under control at about 4 p.m. that same day. Though there were employees inside the building when this occurred, no injuries or deaths were reported.
By the following day, the smell from the BioLab fire had traveled the 25 miles to Atlanta. Also on Monday, officials detected chlorine in the air in Rockdale County from the BioLab fire.
Rockdale County residents living in the northern part of the area were asked to evacuate on the same day as the fire, and to shelter in place on Monday. Later on Monday, the Rockdale County Emergency Management Agency lifted the shelter-in-place order and the evacuation zone. At that point, readings from the Environmental Protection Agency had come back clean. Businesses were allowed to reopen as normal by Tuesday, Oct. 1.
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Associated Press staff contributed to this report.
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