New CSB Safety Video Explains 2020 Fire and Toxic Gas Release at Bio-Lab Facility

The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) has released a new safety video on its investigation into the August 2020 fire and toxic gas release at the Bio-Lab Lake Charles chemical facility in Westlake, Louisiana, that occurred when the facility was severely damaged by Hurricane Laura. 

The new safety video includes an animation of the events leading to the incident, and commentary from CSB board member Catherine Sandoval and investigator-in-charge Vonzella Vincent. 

The Bio-Lab facility manufactures and supplies water treatment products for pools and spas, including a formulation comprised primarily of the chemical trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCCA). In large bodies of water, like swimming pools, TCCA-based formulations dissolve and break down slowly, releasing available chlorine into the water to sanitize contaminants, such as algae and bacteria. 

However, when a TCCA-based formulation interacts with a small amount of water and doesn’t dissolve, a chemical reaction can occur, generating heat and causing the material to decompose and produce toxic chlorine gas.

The CSB’s investigation found that as Category 4 Hurricane Laura approached, Bio-Lab took steps to remove chemical products from the facility via trucks. However, some trucks never arrived, leaving more than 1 million pounds of the TCCA-based formulation and other chemicals on-site ahead of the storm. Extreme wind from Hurricane Laura severely damaged buildings at the facility, allowing rainwater to seep in and come in contact with the products stored inside. The stored chemicals reacted and decomposed, igniting a fire. A large plume of hazardous gases, including toxic chlorine, spread over the neighboring community leading to a shelter-in-place order.

In the video, Sandoval states, “The fire and release at Bio-Lab is not the only significant chemical incident in recent years to be caused by extreme weather. Companies and regulators must take steps to ensure that chemical facilities are protected against damage from natural hazards, as extreme weather is becoming more common.”

The video covers the five key safety issues that contributed to the incident: 

• extreme weather preparation, 
• process hazard analyses implementation, 
• emergency preparedness and response, 
• adherence to applicable hazardous materials code, and 
• regulatory coverage of reactive chemical hazards. 

The video also highlights safety recommendations made by the CSB to the state of Louisiana, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA).

More Incidents Followed

When announcing the video, CSB Chairperson Steve Owens stated: “The substance involved in the 2020 fire and toxic gas release at the Bio-Lab facility in Louisiana is the same substance involved in the catastrophic chemical fire last fall at Bio-Lab’s facility in Conyers, Georgia, that began on September 29, 2024, as well as another fire and toxic gas release that had occurred at the Bio-Lab Conyers facility in September 2020 shortly after the Louisiana event. These dangerous events underscore the need for Bio-Lab and other chemical facilities to have more effective safeguards in place to prevent hazards from reactive chemicals that put communities and workers at serious risk, as well as the need for EPA, OSHA, and other regulatory agencies to take comprehensive action to protect against reactive hazards.” 

Last September, roughly 17,000 people in the community near Bio-Lab’s Conyers facility had to evacuate due to the fire at the facility, and as many as 90,000 others near Atlanta were advised to shelter in place due to the massive toxic plume of dark smoke coming from the fire, which contained chlorine and other substances. During the September 2020 fire and toxic gas release, businesses near the Conyers facility also evacuated, and Bio-Lab personnel and local firefighters were exposed to dangerous fumes.

Watch the video below.