Approximately 40,000 people in Orange County, California were ordered to evacuate on Friday due to a critical situation at an aerospace facility. A storage tank containing 6-7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate, a highly flammable chemical used in plastic manufacturing, began off-gassing and threatened to fail or explode.
Key Takeaways
Approximately 40,000 people were ordered to evacuate six cities in Orange County due to a failing chemical tank at GKN Aerospace containing 6-7,000 gallons of highly flammable methyl methacrylate. Authorities warn the tank may fail and spill its contents or explode. Evacuation shelters have been set up, and no injuries have been reported.
The crisis originated Thursday at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove when damage to a valve on the tank prevented complete mitigation. Authorities initially responded with hazmat teams and lifted evacuation orders later that day, but the situation worsened overnight. By Friday morning, new evacuation orders had expanded to residents in six cities: Garden Grove, Cypress, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park, and Westminster. According to Garden Grove police chief Amir El-Farra as reported by The Guardian, some 15% of those facing evacuation orders were refusing to leave.
Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Craig Covey warned at a news conference that the tank is 'actively in crisis' and faces two possible outcomes: failing and spilling its contents or going into thermal runaway and exploding. 'We are setting up these evacuations in preparation for these two options: it fails, or it blows up,' Covey stated as reported by multiple outlets including NPR and HuffPost.
Firefighters doused the tank with water using a mechanical device to keep humans at a safe distance. This effort stabilized the temperature and 'bought us time', according to Craig Covey, division chief of the Orange County Fire Authority as reported by Reuters. Authorities established three evacuation shelters in Garden Grove, Anaheim, and Cypress.
Emergency responders have laid out sand barriers to contain the chemicals if the tank cracks. As of Friday afternoon, no injuries or deaths had been reported in connection with the incident according to NPR and HuffPost. Health officials expressed concern that vapor could cause severe respiratory issues if released but air quality monitors detected no such vapor as per Reuters.
Officials have described the situation as 'unprecedented,' noting they cannot recall a similar event occurring before, reported by Los Angeles Times. The chemical, methyl methacrylate (MMA), is highly volatile and toxic, capable of causing severe respiratory distress and hospitalization if inhaled at high levels according to Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, Orange County's health officer as reported by Los Angeles Times.
The evacuation zone extends roughly between one to three miles away from the failing chemical tank, which is located northeast of the corner of Western and Lampson avenues. Residential homes are situated less than 400 feet east of the tank in Stanton according to Los Angeles Times. The Orange County Superior Court has recommended nonessential personnel leave the courthouse in Westminster, which is outside the evacuation zone.
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