It’s Not Just BioLab. Major Chemical Accidents Are Alarmingly Common in the US.

Investigators have been busy at the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, the independent federal agency tasked with determining the root causes of major chemical accidents at industrial facilities.

In Georgia, fallout is continuing more than two weeks after a massive chemical fire erupted at the BioLab pool and spa supply facility in Conyers, just outside of Atlanta. The fire created a toxic plume of chlorine gas that forced 17,000 people from their homes just days after Hurricane Helene hit the state. In the suburban petrochemical corridor east of Houston, Texas, the Chemical Safety Board is investigating the toxic release of hydrogen sulfide at an oil refinery that left two contract workers dead and 35 others injured on October 10.

Both industrial chemical accidents made national headlines as nearby residents were put under shelter in place orders to avoid the toxic air outside. The accidents may seem like anomalies, but the United States is notorious for its lax regulation of toxic chemicals. Dangerous chemical accidents occur frequently and rarely receive attention beyond the local news.