Authorities in Orange County, California, have ordered the evacuation of 40,000 people over concerns about a chemical leak that threatened spillage or an explosion.
The problem arose on Thursday at a facility owned by GKN Aerospace in the city of Garden Grove, where a storage tank holding methyl methacrylate began off-gassing and threatened to fail. The chemical, which is highly flammable, is used to fabricate resins and plastics.
Local authorities originally responded with a hazmat team on Thursday, ordering residents to evacuate, but lifted the order later that day. However, the problem worsened due to “damage to a valve on the tank” that “created additional operational challenges, preventing complete mitigation”, according to Garden Grove authorities. By Friday, new evacuation orders had expanded to residents in six cities.
“We have a tank that is actively in crisis,” said Orange County fire authority division chief Craig Covey. “There are literally two options left remaining. One: the tank fails and spills a total of about 6-7,000 gallons of very bad chemicals into the parking lot in that area. Or two: the tank goes into a thermal runaway and blows up, affecting the tanks that are around them that have fuel or the chemicals in them as well.”
Crews have created containment barriers with sandbags in case of a spill, to prevent the toxic chemical from reaching storm drains, creeks or the nearby ocean. County health officer Dr Regina Chinsio-Kwong said that if the chemical heats up, it can release a vapour harmful to health, causing respiratory issues, itching and burning eyes, nausea and headaches.
Garden Grove police chief Amir El-Farra said about 15% of those facing evacuation orders were refusing to leave, according to the Orange County Register. The city has set up at least two shelters. The evacuation orders cover residents of Cypress, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park and Westminster. Garden Grove is about 30 miles south-east of downtown Los Angeles and less than a mile from Disneyland’s two theme parks, which were not under evacuation orders. GKN Aerospace is a division of a British corporation producing aircraft parts.
