BioLab, a chemical plant in Conyers, Ga., about 25 miles east of Atlanta, manufactured products to clean pools and spas. The facility caught fire on Sept. 29, 2024, sending a plume of smoke into the air forcing evacuations and shelter-in-place orders. Nearly a year later, residents are still pressing for answers about what was released into the air and how it might affect their health which we explore as part of GPB’s continuing reporting on the disaster.
Records released to the public on Aug. 18, 2025 suggest the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) monitored and downplayed testing done by an environmental activist, Scott Smith, who traveled to Georgia last year to test for water and soil contamination after the fire at the BioLab facility.
The documents were shared with GPB by the Government Accountability Project, a nonpartisan organization based in Washington, D.C. that defends whistleblowers across the country and represents Smith. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests made by the group detail what they describe as a months-long campaign against him.
Who is Scott Smith?
Smith is an independent environmental testing expert and founder of the Blue Shirt Justice League, a nonprofit environmental watchdog based in Hyannis, Massachusetts. Smith is known on social media for his remediation technology patents, which help fund his travel to disaster sites around the country, including facilities such as BioLab, at the request of local residents affected by...
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