In Orange County, Southern California, a aerospace plastic facility’s chemical tank overheated and began releasing steam. The authorities have issued an emergency evacuation order for approximately 40,000 residents in the surrounding areas due to the risk of the tank exploding or rupturing. Despite the temporary stabilization of the tank’s temperature by the fire department, officials admit that the possibility of the tank rupturing cannot be avoided.
The incident took place at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, a aerospace plastic facility specializing in manufacturing components for commercial and military aircraft. On Thursday, a tank containing 6,000 to 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate (MMA) overheated and started emitting steam into the air.
Craig Covey, the divisional fire chief of the Orange County Fire Authority, stated on Friday that the tank could fail and rupture, leading to the flow of chemicals onto the ground or a potential explosion.
“This tank will eventually fail, and we don’t know when,” Covey said. “We are doing everything we can to figure out when it will fail or how we can stop it.”
The evacuation area has expanded from Garden Grove to parts of neighboring cities like Cypress, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park, and Westminster.
Local officials noted that due to valve damage on the tank, technicians are unable to remove the chemicals, making it difficult to immediately resolve the crisis.
Covey emphasized the necessity of evacuating nearby residents repeatedly. He said, “Unless there’s someone behind me who has a brilliant idea to mitigate the impact of this incident, it’s going to happen.”
“This substance is highly volatile, toxic, and flammable,” he warned.
As the exact timing of the tank failure cannot be predicted, he urged residents to evacuate. Covey stated, “People need to leave their homes and go to a safe place because once this thing goes south, it’s going to be determined by the wind direction, and we can’t control the weather.”
Garden Grove is known for its large Vietnamese community, and the affected area includes 13 schools and 2 facilities in the Garden Grove Unified School District.
Despite evacuation notices issued by the authorities, Amir El-Farra, the police chief of Garden Grove, revealed that approximately 15% of residents in the evacuation area (around 6,000 people) have refused to leave.
Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein of Garden Grove commented, “We understand that this is frightening, but the evacuation order is for your safety.”
In terms of public health, Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, a health official in Orange County, pointed out that MMA is heavier than air and may have a fruity smell. Exposure to its vapors can lead to severe respiratory irritation, dizziness, nausea, and itching or burning sensation in the eyes.
Firefighters have set up sandbag barriers on-site to prevent the leakage of chemicals from entering the stormwater drainage system, creeks, or nearby waters.
As of now, there have been no reports of casualties.
A spokesperson for GKN Aerospace released a statement saying that a professional hazardous materials handling team is assessing the situation, and the current priority is ensuring the safety of employees, emergency responders, and the surrounding community.
The location of the incident is less than 5 miles from Disneyland. Although Disneyland is currently not within the evacuation area, authorities are continuing to closely monitor air quality.