Georgia county official dies after testifying about Conyers BioLab chemical plant fire

October 9th, 2024

A group of people stand at the bottom of a staircase in the Georgia State Capitol for a press conference. — Environmentalists, lawmakers and residents hold a press conference on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, to call for the shutdown of the Conyers BioLab chemical plant that caught fire on Sept. 29. (Marisa Mecke/WABE)

A Georgia county official died after he collapsed at the state Capitol following testimony he gave during a hearing about a chemical plant fire.

Kenny Johnson, the Rockdale County Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor, testified on Tuesday alongside business owners and leaders frustrated by the fire last month at the BioLab plant in Conyers, 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Atlanta. In the hours after the fire, hazardous plumes spread into neighboring counties.

According to the Georgia House Democratic Caucus, the 62-year-old Johnson “complained of shortness of breath and subsequently collapsed in the hallway” after the meeting, local news outlets reported. State Rep. Viola Davis, who is a nurse, administered CPR until medical officials arrived and rushed him to Grady Memorial Hospital. He died later that day.

“Kenny dedicated years as the Soil and Water Conservation District representative and as an environmental justice advocate,” Davis said. “His unwavering commitment to environmental justice and his testimony on the effects of the Biolab chemical fire on the community remain etched in our memories.”