Evacuation orders were reissued Friday for thousands of residents and schools were closed in Garden Grove as authorities warned that a leaking chemical tank could potentially spill thousands of gallons of toxic material, or possibly even explode.
The leak at GKN Aerospace at Western and Lampson avenues was initially reported around 3:30 p.m. Thursday. Orange County Fire Authority officials said an industrial chemical had become overheated inside a 34,000-gallon tank, prompting a release of vapors into the air.
Rep. Derek Tran, D-Westminster, said the leak involved “methyl methacrylate, a volatile and flammable chemical.” Methyl methacrylate is a liquid used to make acrylic plastics.
Firefighters began spraying the failing tank with water in an effort to cool the material inside, and that process continued through the night.
Evacuation orders were initially issued Thursday, but they were lifted Thursday night when crews believed they were making progress mitigating the situation. But Friday morning, the orders were re-instituted “due to changing conditions,” according to the OCFA.
As the morning wore on, the situation worsened, and the evacuation zone was expanded to create a roughly one-mile buffer area around the tank.
Around midday, OCFA Division Chief Craig Covey gave a bleak update online, saying that authorities have determined that “The tank that is in the biggest crisis is in fact unable to be secured and mitigated.”
“There are literally two options left remaining,” Covey said. “One, the tank fails and spills a total of about 6,000 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, affecting the tank that are around them that have fuel or the chemicals in them as well.”
Covey stressed that “there is no active gas leak, no plume in the area,” but he warned residents to heed the evacuation warnings are remain out of the area due to the possible spill or explosion.
The evacuation zone covers the area north of Trask Avenue, south of Ball Road, east of Valley View Street and west of Dale Street. Evacuation centers were established at Garden Grove Sports & Recreation Center, 13641 Deodara Drive, and at 5700 Orange Ave. in Cypress.
The Garden Grove Unified School District announced that classes were canceled until further notice at the following campuses:
— Barker Elementary School;
— Bryant;
— Carver;
— Enders Elementary School;
— Garden Park;
— Lawrence Elementary School;
— Wakeham Elementary School;
— Patton Elementary School;
— Bell Intermediate School;
— Alamitos Intermediate;
— Pacifica High School;
— Rancho Alamitos High School;
— Skylark Preschool;
— Maintenance and Operations Facility; and
— Lampson Bus Yard.
Tran issued a statement Friday saying he was “closely monitoring” the situation.
“My office is in close contact with local police, fire, and emergency response officials as they work to contain the hazardous materials, assess air quality, and ensure residents and first responders are safe,” he said. “I am in contact with federal disaster relief officials, including FEMA and the EPA, to urge them to provide any available federal assistance for Garden Grove. I encourage everyone in the affected area to follow guidance from local authorities and avoid the impacted zones until further guidance is issued.”
GKN Aerospace, a leading global supplier of vehicle and aircraft components, manufactures acrylic plastics.
No injuries have been reported.
It was unclear what caused the tank to overheat.