Rockdale County Public Schools officials said the district will operate virtually through the first half of next week due to the aftermath of the BioLab chemical fire that displaced 17,000 residents in Conyers on Sunday.
RCPS students were set to return to school this upcoming Monday after spending this week on recess for a pre-scheduled fall break. Now, students will have independent learning days Oct. 7 through Oct. 9 while district employees and support staff work remotely.
The district serves more than 15,000 students at 22 learning sites, including a STEM magnet school, a career academy, and two virtual schools. Sixty-eight percent of RCPS students are Black, while nearly 73% are identified as economically disadvantaged, according to the Georgia Department of Education.
RCPS Superintendent Terry Oatts said in a statement to Capital B Atlanta that the district is expressing caution, given the nature and proximity of some of its campuses to the BioLab site, which borders Old Covington Highway.
“As we prepare to return next week from the break, we realize that cleanup efforts continue at the site of the fire,” Oatts said. “As officials have stated, the air quality is unlikely to cause harm to most people; however, there are some people who may be affected by the chemical plume if they are in its direct path. … It is difficult to predict exactly where the plume will travel and for how long.”
Oatts also mentioned that school activities in the first half of next week will be rescheduled as officials closely monitor the situation and its environmental impact as it relates to the district.
“We have not been given a timeline for the completion of the cleanup, but we hope that we are able to resume normal operations later next week,” he said.
Earlier this week, a shelter-in-place order for nearly 90,000 residents in Conyers that was lifted Monday night had been once again mandated by officials as weather conditions Tuesday caused the lingering plume to bank down and move throughout the county. Now, residents have been instructed by Rockdale County to remain indoors between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. until Saturday morning due to the possibility of worsening air quality after sundown.
For neighboring Newton County, which previously shut down operations for its school district Monday and Tuesday of this week, in-person classes will continue.
Capital B Atlanta reached out to Newton County Public Schools for a statement and have not received one at the time of publication.
For Jennifer Tharpe, the situation has been extremely stressful. She lives in Rockdale County, yet her son attends school in Covington, which is in Newton County.
“It’s just been a lot for us,” she told Capital B Atlanta. “My son has been still going to school despite us living right at the cutoff area that was asked to evacuate last week. Now, I’m hearing Rockdale County is still not sending kids to school.”
According to the Centers for Disease Controls and Prevention, chlorine, which has been detected in the air in Rockdale County and as far away as Gwinnett County, can give off a strong odor when present in dangerous amounts.
However, if someone is exposed to low levels for a long time, like in a school or workplace, they might get accustomed to it and not notice how irritating it is. Since chlorine is heavier than air, it can cause breathing problems for those exposed to it.
Additionally, bromine — a chlorine alternative also used in pool and spa treatments — was detected at lower levels. An air quality survey conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division identified both chemicals as harmful irritants emanating from the BioLab site.
Tharpe says she suspects county and state officials are not being transparent with residents about the gravity of the situation.
“I’ve heard of people who have gotten ill from this,” she said, citing news reports. “Throwing up yellow and dealing with massive headaches. All they are telling us to do is stay indoors and turn off our AC … but they aren’t telling us a timeline for how long this will go on.”
