It’s not just BioLab. Serious chemical accidents occur at an alarming rate in the United States

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

Rainfall in Georgia has continued for more than two weeks after a massive chemical fire broke out at the BioLab pool and spa supply facility in Conyers, just outside Atlanta. The fire produced a toxic chlorine gas cloud that forced 17,000 people from their homes just days after Hurricane Helene devastated the state. In the suburban petrochemical corridor east of Houston, Texas, the Chemical Safety Board is investigating a toxic release of hydrogen sulfide at an oil refinery that killed two contract workers and injured 35 others on Oct. 10.

Both industrial chemical accidents made national headlines as surrounding residents were placed 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 outside of local news.

The worst chemical accidents are usually investigated by the Chemical Safety Board. Authorized by the Clean Air Act in the 1990s, the agency’s mission is to “advance chemical safety excellence” and pursue the vision of a “chemical disaster-free nation.” The Chemical Safety Board is not a regulatory body and does not impose fines and fees, but rather makes recommendations to companies and policymakers.

Chemical Safety Board investigators focus only on so-called “serious” chemical accidents that result in death, injury or massive property damage. From April 2020 to July 2024, the board investigated 421 “serious” chemical incidents at various fossil fuel plants, warehouses and refineries. Of these, 57 incidents caused fatalities, 227 caused “serious physical injuries” and 197 caused “significant property damage.”

According to the panel’s data, a “major” chemical or petrochemical incident has occurred in the U.S. on average about every four days since 2020. While releases of toxic emissions from chemical accidents are not captured in the data, surrounding communities are often affected by air and water pollution released in the accidents, particularly when inclement weather, operational errors, or equipment failures cause petrochemical plants and infrastructure to become toxic Gases burn, catch fire or explode.

The list includes previous accidents at the BioLab facility in Georgia and another BioLab facility in Westlake, Louisiana, which caught fire during the destruction caused by Hurricane Laura in 2020, forcing authorities to shut down a portion of a nearby highway for 28 hours to block distraction from storm recovery. Similarly, in 2020, the Georgia BioLab plant released a toxic chlorine cloud, forcing authorities to close a highway, close businesses and order residents to shelter in place.

In 2004, a major fire at the same BioLab facility caused a large cloud of pollutants, forcing people in the immediate area to evacuate. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the cloud’s effects were felt up to 50 miles (80 kilometers) away.

Businesses and residents near BioLab in Georgia have filed lawsuits against the company over the effects of the recent fire, and Georgia state lawmakers are reportedly calling for stricter regulations on the chemicals stored at the facility.

Recent incidents at BioLab facilities in Louisiana and Georgia involved the chemical TCCA, a chlorinating agent used in pools and hot tubs. TCCA is soluble in large bodies of water and breaks down slowly, but smaller amounts of water can cause the chemical to catch fire and explode.

Like the BioLab fire in Louisiana in 2020, the latest incident distracted first responders from hurricane recovery. The Chemical Safety Board redeployed its investigators, who had already recommended that the company improve “oversight” over chemicals that could react with water following previous accidents in Louisiana and Georgia. In statements to the media, BioLab apologized to the Conyers community and said it was working diligently with authorities to clean up after the recent fire.

Thanks to Republican-led “business-friendly” administrations, the chemical industry in Georgia and Louisiana enjoys relaxed environmental regulation. Anne Rolfes, director of the environmental group Louisiana Bucket Brigade, said her state is “dominated” by the petrochemical industry and there are no consequences for companies after dangerous accidents.

Rolfes pointed to Tyler Gray, a former lobbyist for an oil refinery and a fossil fuel industry group who was appointed by Louisiana’s climate change-denying Republican governor to head the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, a regulator of the expansive petrochemical industry of the state.

“A former oil and gas lobbyist actually runs the Department of Natural Resources — an agency that should hold the industry accountable,” Rolfes said in an email. “This is what you get when you put the oil and chemical industries in charge of self-regulation: fires, explosions and tragic accidents that kill people.”

The Chemical Safety Board is also investigating the deadly release of hydrogen sulfide that killed two workers and injured dozens more at an oil refinery owned by Mexican energy giant Pemex in Texas last week. The Houston Landing reports that Pemex failed to properly notify local authorities after the chemical leak, causing delays for first responders and withholding air quality monitoring data from the public.

“This is a very serious incident that resulted in multiple fatalities and injuries and potentially endangered the surrounding community,” Steve Owens, chairman of the Chemical Safety Board, said in a statement last week.

The Pemex refinery is located in Deer Park, a Houston suburb where a car recently crashed into a liquid natural gas pipeline, causing an explosion and a tower of flames that burned for hours and damaged nearby homes. Deer Park residents are no strangers to sheltering in place. Texas is the beating heart of the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries, and state environmental regulators are notorious for letting polluters go scot-free.

Georgia Congressional Democrats are calling for stricter regulation of TCCA and similar chemicals following the recent BioLab fire. However, federal data shows that such accidents occur frequently and policymakers rarely take action. Perhaps the sheer frequency of dangerous accidents is one reason the chemical industry spent more than $65 million lobbying Congress in 2023 alone.