We want them gone: Georgia county plans to sue BioLab after its chemical plant fire upended life for thousands of residents | National & World [Video]

(CNN) — After a pre-dawn inferno engulfed a BioLab industrial building, it shrouded neighborhoods in chemical smoke for days. Thousands of Georgia residents had to evacuate. Children couldn’t go to school for weeks. And authorities urged residents to stay home every night as communities wondered how dangerous the disaster might be.

Now, Rockdale County is trying to oust BioLab from its site in Conyers, about 25 miles east of Atlanta, saying it doesn’t want to risk another potential environmental calamity from the company that produces pool and spa water sanitization products.

“We can no longer stand by and allow a corporation to continuously affect our current and future physical health, our mental health and our overall quality of life,” Rockdale County Commissioner Sherri Washington said Monday.

Rockdale County officials plan to file a federal lawsuit this week seeking compensation for the county and impacted residents, attorney Shayna Sacks said. They will also try to have BioLab “permanently shut down …