California: 40,000 people ordered to evacuate over chemical leak fears
Authorities in Orange county say tank holding methyl methacrylate ‘actively in crisis’ and urge residents to leave
Authorities in Orange county, California have ordered the evacuation of 40,000 people over concerns about a chemical leak that threatened to spill or explode.
The problem arose on Thursday at a facility owned by GKN Aerospace in the town 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 to the incident with a hazmat team on Thursday, ordering local residents to evacuate. They lifted the order later that day, but the problem worsened due to “damage to a valve on the tank” that “created additional operational challenges, preventing complete mitigation”, Garden Grove authorities wrote in an evacuation order.
By Friday, new evacuation orders had expanded to residents in six cities.
“We have a tank that is actively in crisis,” Orange county fire authority division chief Craig Covey told reporters at a news conference.
“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.”
Garden Grove police chief Amir El-Farra said some 15% of those facing evacuation orders were refusing to leave, according to the Orange County Register. The city has established at least two shelters for evacuees.
Covey, the county fire division chief, urged residents to take the order seriously.
“We are setting up these evacuations in preparation for these two options: it fails or it blows up,” Covey said. “Please follow our requests and orders for evacuations.”
It’s possible, however, that the tank could crack rather than explode. Emergency responders have laid out sand barriers to contain the chemicals in that event.
“In a weird world, that’s the best-case scenario, believe it or not,” Covey said, according to the New York Times.
GKN Aerospace is a division of a British corporation that produces airplane engines and other aircraft parts.
Still waiting to hear what Garden Grove actually plans to do about it.
Still waiting to hear what Craig Covey actually plans to do about it.
Considering the problem arose on Thursday at a facility owned by GKN Aerospace in the town of Garden Grove, where a storage tank holding methyl methacrylate began off-gassing and threatened to fail, it raises some real questions about what happens next.
What stands out is “We have a tank that is actively in crisis,” Orange county fire authority division chief Craig Covey told reporters at a news conference. That is the part worth paying attention to.
Basically the problem arose on Thursday at a facility owned by GKN Aerospace in the town of Garden Grove, where a storage tank holding methyl methacrylate began off-gassing and threatened to fail. What matters is whether anything changes because of it.
The bigger issue here is “There are literally two options left remaining. That changes the calculation.
So the bottom line is local authorities originally responded to the incident with a hazmat team on Thursday, ordering local residents to evacuate. Wonder how this will land.
The detail about the problem arose on Thursday at a facility owned by GKN Aerospace in the town of Garden Grove, where a storage tank holding methyl methacrylate began off-gassing and threatened to fail is something people should sit with.
What stands out is authorities in Orange county, California have ordered the evacuation of 40,000 people over concerns about a chemical leak that threatened to spill or explode. That is the part worth paying attention to.
In other words the problem arose on Thursday at a facility owned by GKN Aerospace in the town of Garden Grove, where a storage tank holding methyl methacrylate began off-gassing and threatened to fail. Curious to see how this develops.
Basically “We have a tank that is actively in crisis,” Orange county fire authority division chief Craig Covey told reporters at a news conference. What matters is whether anything changes because of it.
Considering authorities in Orange county, California have ordered the evacuation of 40,000 people over concerns about a chemical leak that threatened to spill or explode, it raises some real questions about what happens next.
40,000 people is hard to ignore, no matter which side you are on.
So the bottom line is authorities in Orange county, California have ordered the evacuation of 40,000 people over concerns about a chemical leak that threatened to spill or explode. Wonder how this will land.
What stands out is local authorities originally responded to the incident with a hazmat team on Thursday, ordering local residents to evacuate. That is the part worth paying attention to.