In Garden Grove, at the GKN Aerospace Facility, a tank containing Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) has caused approximately 40,000 residents to evacuate. Some areas evacuated other than Garden Grove can include Cypress, Stanton, Buena Park, Anaheim and Westminster.
Methyl Methacrylate is a highly toxic and flammable gas used to create resins and plastics. It can cause dizziness, nausea, lung irritation that can lead to hospitalization.
The tank started having issues on May 21, with an evacuation order being placed and soon lifted, but on May 22 was released once again.
At the aerospace company, there are three tanks, one of which has a leak. If the affected tank blows up, it’ll likely cause the other two to explode as well.
In a press conference from Chief Craig Covey, the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA), told KTLA5, “There are literally two options left remaining,” Covey said in a video update released by OCFA and the Garden Grove Police Department. “One, the tank fails and spills a total of about six to 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.”
From the same press conference, the Los Angeles Times reported it is said the biggest issue is that the tank is unable to be secured and will fail. The only thing to be done is to try and lower the possible damage.
NBCLA said, “It is a matter of when, not if something might happen.”
“Covey said it was unclear how widespread or dangerous an explosion could be, and said the timeline was unknown,” said CBS News.
Andee Phillips, a resident of the area, said, “I was notified about the tanks on Thursday around 4:30 p.m. By about 9 p.m. that evening they said it was contained and the evacuation was lifted. However, the next morning they put the evacuation back in place. We evacuated our home around 10 a.m. on Friday morning and haven’t returned.” Phillips lives right outside the evacuation order and was notified by her brother who works by the tanks, she was not notified by any officials.
Alex Vieyra, a student at affected Pacifica High School and resident of the evacuation, said her family was sent an alert similar to amber alerts, signaling an evacuation and when getting ready for school was texted by a friend it cancelled. Vieyra stated, “Since it is a dangerous chemical it should be taken seriously. MMA can really damage the body and as of now we have no idea of the long term effects it can have on this big of a population. When or if something does happen, wearing a mask and limiting time outside in these areas are essential. My heart goes out to everyone who also had to evacuate. I hope people who are not affected by this incident understand and are empathetic of our situation.”
The Garden Grove Emergency Hotline is (714) 751-5444. Evacuation centers like Ocean View High School in Huntington Beach are fully available for families, meanwhile Savanna High School and Kennedy High School have limited room available. For updates on evacuation sites, check Garden Grove’s city website.
