Verlan Fire Insurance Co., a Hanover Insurance subsidiary, takes BioLab and its parent companies to federal court, arguing the chemical maker’s missteps triggered the 2024 Conyers, warehouse fire that pushed a toxic plume across Rockdale County and disrupted life across metro Atlanta.
The suit runs at $20 mn, the amount Verlan says it already shelled out to cover losses for Diversitech, an HVAC supplier based near the destroyed BioLab facility.
Verlan wants BioLab, KIK International, and KIK Custom Products to cover those payouts and whatever future claims roll in.
Following a major chemical fire, Rockdale County, residents, and businesses have filed multiple federal lawsuits against BioLab and its parent company KIK Consumer Products, seeking damages for health issues, property loss, and economic disruption, with the county also aiming to shut down the plant due to repeated safety violations, leading to ongoing litigation and investigations.
In the Northern District of Georgia filing, Verlan claims BioLab’s negligence and plain recklessness sparked the fire and released hazardous smoke and gases.
The complaint says the Conyers site lacked a fire protection system capable of knocking down flames without triggering chemical reactions with water-reactive materials.
It also argues the plant didn’t maintain a workable emergency response plan, something investigators flagged more than once.
BioLab continues to argue with parts of the federal record. The company has pushed back on earlier findings and hasn’t yet answered Verlan’s suit.
A June 2023 EPA inspection noted the facility’s Emergency Contingency Plan as “N/A,” raising questions about what was, or wasn’t, on file at the time.
Additional EPA documents obtained by GPB show regulators rushed to approve several post-emergency response plans in the days and weeks after the fire, including sign-offs by Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division and the EPA.
Verlan says its indemnity payments to Diversitech now total $20.3 mn. BioLab isn’t commenting, and Verlan’s attorneys stay quiet as well.
The case moves ahead in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, adding yet another legal front for BioLab, which already faces a class action from residents and business owners and a separate lawsuit from the Rockdale County Board of Commissioners.
In April 2025, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found that improperly stored hazardous chemicals were the cause of a fire at a Bio-Lab Inc. facility in Conyers.
The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation learned that the incident originated at a company warehouse that stored various chemicals. OSHA cited Bio-Lab for four serious and two other-than-serious violations and proposed $61,473 in penalties.
Following the massive September 2024 toxic chemical fire at its Conyers, GA plant, BioLab Inc. and its parent companies face lawsuits, including a new federal suit by an insurer, alleging company negligence caused the blaze by allowing reactive chemicals to contact water, leading to a toxic plume affecting the community, with federal investigations (CSB, OSHA) pointing to improper storage and safety failures.
Over 20 class-action suits are consolidated in federal court, with former workers reporting ignored warnings, while OSHA fined BioLab for violations, and the CSB continues its probe into the preventable disaster
On the morning of September 29, a sprinkler system failure at the BioLab facility on Old Covington Highway in Conyers set off a chain reaction, releasing a massive, dangerous chemical smoke plume.
The malfunction also ignited a fire on the roof, which soon collapsed under the pressure. The plume carried a strong chlorine odour, blanketing the surrounding area for miles.
In response, authorities evacuated 17,000 nearby residents and ordered more than 70,000 others to remain indoors for several days as the situation unfolded. The shelter-in-place directive was not lifted until the danger had passed, and for some, it was not lifted for more than two weeks.
The county seeks compensation for damages and a permanent shutdown of the plant, citing a history of negligence.
BioLab has had four incidents of negligence over the past two decades. The risk they pose to our community now far outweighs any potential benefits
Commissioner Sherri L. Washington
She emphasized that the company’s failure to make necessary safety changes has pushed the county to take this drastic step.
“BioLab has had at least four instances of negligence in the 20 years that it has operated in this community,” she said, adding that “at this point their risk to our community far outweighs any benefit that we could possibly glean from their operation in this county”, Fox News reports.
Commissioner Doreen Williams echoed the concerns. “This isn’t just bad for Rockdale—it’s bad for the state and the nation. BioLab’s neglect endangers our lives, and we need them out.”
