The tank’s temperature went up about a degree an hour. On Saturday, Orange County Fire Authority officials said it had climbed from 77 degrees the day before to 90, and that evening Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency.
The problem began Thursday afternoon at a GKN Aerospace facility in Garden Grove, California. A tank holding 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate, a toxic, highly flammable liquid used to make plastic, started heating up. By Friday, fire officials warned it would either leak or explode, and evacuation zones were widened.
Tens of thousands of people were ordered out. The briefing described about 40,000 evacuees. The zone runs from Ball Road to Trask Avenue and from Dale Street to Valley View Street. The cities of Garden Grove, Stanton, Anaheim, Cypress, Westminster and Buena Park are all affected. Some schools closed, and exits of several major roads were shut. Disneyland sits outside the zone and kept operating.
What the declaration does
“The safety of Orange County residents is the top priority,” Newsom said in a Saturday news release. “We are mobilizing every state resource available to support local responders and make sure the community has what they need to stay safe.”
The order directs the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and all state agencies to help, and opens state-owned sites such as the Costa Mesa Fairgrounds as evacuation shelters if needed.
Fire crews
Craig Covey, an Orange County Fire Authority division chief, said letting the tank fail is not an option. “Letting this thing just fail and blow up is unacceptable to us,” he said in a Saturday update.
Crews planned for the worst at the same time. “We’re preparing for the tank to fail and spill the liquid all over the place,” Covey said. Teams are building dikes and dams to steer any spill to a holding area and keep it out of storm drains, river channels and the ocean. Covey said an emergency team went into the facility to try adding a neutralizing agent to a separate nearby tank, and found the gauge at 90 degrees.
By Sunday evening the picture had eased. Fire officials said there was “currently no active leak,” and that continuous atmospheric monitoring confirmed no chemicals were escaping. They hope a crack that formed is slowly releasing pressure. They denied the tank had more than one crack.
Interim fire chief TJ McGovern said an all-night mission was meant to confirm the pressure was released and that the “Bleve [Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion] threat is eliminated.” He added: “We are not there yet.” He asked people to stay out of the evacuation zone. The cause is under investigation.
Residents and the company
County health officer Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong said anyone who notices “a fruity and heavy smell” should alert authorities. Inhaling the vapor can cause respiratory problems, eye irritation and dizziness, she said. People outside the one-mile zone should be safe.
Resident Mark Olsen told NBC LA he woke to sirens, grabbed some belongings and left. Not knowing when he could go home was “frustrating,” he said.
GKN Aerospace, a UK-based aircraft parts supplier, said it is working round the clock to reduce the risk of a leak, and apologized to the local community.
Sources
- State of Emergency Declared Over OC Chemical Tank at Risk of Exploding
- Currently no active leak from failing chemical tank, California officials say
- California governor declares state of emergency over looming chemical disaster
