Georgia Tech has received a rapid grant of more than $86,000 from the National Science Foundation to study air-monitoring data the university conducted during the BioLab incident in Rockdale County this fall. Georgia Tech's School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences deployed a mobile monitoring station at the city of Conyers' request shortly after the fire started on Sept. 29. The blaze lasted about two and a half weeks, created a plume of chemicals that wafted over the county and parts of metro Atlanta, and has prompted more than 20 class-action lawsuits blaming the company for illnesses and business closures.

Professor Greg Huey and his research group plan to calibrate and study the data, make it accessible to the public, identify as many compounds as possible that were in the plume, and prioritize reviews based on toxicity.

(This story also appeared at Atlanta Business Chronicle.)