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Georgia fire took place at pool and spa product manufacturer “BioLab,” not biological laboratory
If Your Time is short
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Although the name of the chemical plant where the Georgia fire took place is called "BioLab," the plant is not a biological laboratory. BioLab manufactures pool and spa supplies.
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Stefano Costanzi, an American University chemistry professor, said biological laboratories are where experiments to study living organisms are conducted. As a facility that only manufactures and stores products, BioLab would not be considered a biological laboratory.
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A BioLab spokesperson told PolitiFact that BioLab’s facility produces no biological weapons and does no contagious disease research.
Thick, dark smoke filled the skies after a fire broke out Sept. 29 at BioLab, a pool and spa manufacturer in Conyers, Georgia. About 17,000 people were evacuated from surrounding Rockdale County.
On social media, another narrative unfurled, with some people online inaccurately referring to the site as a biological laboratory.
"NOTHING TO SEE HERE JUST A BIOLAB IN GEORGIA ON FIRE AND SENDING MASSIVE PLUMES OF SMOKE INTO THE SKY RIGHT BEFORE THE 2024 ELECTION," Matt Wallace, a conservative political commentator whom Politifact has previously fact-checked, wrote on X. The post was accompanied by footage of rising smoke plumes.
A Sept. 29 Instagram post sharing video of the fire was captioned, "A Biolab has caught on fire in Georgia."
The Instagram video was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)
Stefano Costanzi, an American University chemistry professor, told PolitiFact that a "biolab" or biological laboratory, is "where experiments intended to study living organisms are carried out."
The BioLab site in Conyers manufactures pool and spa products. Costanzi said BioLab would not be considered a biological laboratory because it only manufactures and stores chemicals.
Featured Fact-check
PolitiFact has previously rated conspiracy theories False that U.S.-run biolabs in Ukraine produced deadly diseases, such as COVID-19, to use as biological weapons.
The U.S. had a bioweapons program in the mid-20th century. President Richard Nixon ended the program in 1969. Today, the U.S. does not develop or produce any bioweapons as part of the United Nations’ Biological Weapons Convention.
We searched Google and did not find any credible reports of bioweapons labs currently existing in the U.S. The Department of State said on X in 2022 that the U.S. is in compliance with the Biological Weapons Convention and "does not develop or possess chemical and biological weapons anywhere."
The World Health Organization defines bioweapons as microorganisms or toxic substances. Anthrax, plague and smallpox have been used to produce bioweapons. BioLab manufactures pool and spa products that contain chemicals, including chlorine and bromine. Andrew Weber, a senior fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks, a security policy institute, said chlorine is a "toxic industrial chemical." Chlorine has been used as a chemical weapon before, including by the Syrian government in 2015.
Daniel Hoadley, a BioLab spokesperson, told PolitiFact via email that BioLab’s facility produces no biological weapons and does no contagious disease research.
Rockdale County Fire Chief Marian McDaniel said during a Sept. 29 press conference that the fire started at around 5 a.m. on BioLab’s roof and was reignited around noon, when the plant’s sprinklers caused a chemical reaction with a water-reactive chemical product. The fire was contained at around 4 p.m. the same day, McDaniel said.
The fire was the third one to occur at the plant in the last seven years, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
We rate the claim that a biolab caught fire in Georgia right before the 2024 election False.
Our Sources
X post (archived), Sept. 29, 2024
Instagram post, Sept. 29, 2024
PolitiFact, There are no US-run biolabs in Ukraine, contrary to social media posts, Feb. 25, 2022
Email interview, Daniel Hoadley, BioLab spokesperson, Sept. 30, 2024
Email interview, Stefano Costanzi, chemistry professor, American University, Oct. 1, 2024
Email interview, Andrew Weber, senior fellow, Council on Strategic Risks, Sept. 30, 2024
PBS, A History of Biological Weapons, May 30, 2019
Biolab, Who we are, accessed Sept. 30, 2024
U.S. Chemical Safety Board, Bio Lab Conyers Chemical Release, April 24, 2023
Facebook, UPDATE: Press Conference regarding today’s incident at Bio Lab, Sept. 29, 2024
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Conyers chemical plant fire: Air quality monitored across metro Atlanta, Sept. 30, 2024
United Nations, Biological Weapons Convention, accessed Oct. 1, 2024
X post, March 9, 2022
World Health Organization, Biological weapons, Sept. 6, 2018
United Nations, What are Biological Weapons?, accessed Oct. 1, 2024
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Conyers chemical plant fire: What to know, Oct. 1, 2024
BBC, US urges action over ‘Syrian chemical attacks’, Aug. 25, 2016
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Georgia fire took place at pool and spa product manufacturer “BioLab,” not biological laboratory
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