Fears leaking chemical tank will explode, 40,000 told to evacuate

Authorities in Southern California are trying to figure out how to prevent the explosion of a storage tank leaking a dangerous chemical used to make plastic parts, as about 40,000 people in the area are under evacuation orders.

A storage tank holding between 22,700 and 26,500 gallons of methyl methacrylate overheated Thursday and began spewing fumes into the air at an aerospace plastics plant in the Orange County city of Garden Grove, local fire officials said.

The tank could break and burst, spilling the chemical onto the ground, or it could explode, Craig Covey, chief of the Orange County Fire Authority Division, said Friday.

“This thing is going to fail, and we don’t know when,” Covey said. “We are doing our best to figure out when and how we can prevent this.”

Officials ordered Garden Grove residents to leave and extended evacuation orders Friday to some residents of five other Orange County cities — Cypress, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park and Westminster — after they were unable to stop the tank leak overnight at GKN Aerospace, which makes parts for commercial and military aircraft.

No injuries or deaths were reported, authorities said.

In an update later on Friday, Covey said authorities have managed to maintain the tank’s temperature, buying them time to figure out how to fix the problem.

Garden Grove is about 38 miles (61 kilometers) south of downtown Los Angeles and less than a mile from the two Disneyland theme parks, which were not under evacuation orders Friday. The city is known for its vibrant Vietnamese community, one of the largest of any American city.

Danny Pham said he was deep in a dream when his roommate banged on his door around 7 a.m. Friday and told him he had to leave immediately. Pham had worked late at a Vietnamese restaurant the night before and had not seen the news.

“It was shocking to me,” said Pham, who lives just a few blocks from the plastics factory. “I didn’t know how serious it would be. I never knew something like this could happen.”

He left minutes later, grabbing only his wallet and passport and seeking shelter at a friend’s restaurant in a neighboring town.

Late Friday afternoon, Pham was still trying to figure out where he would spend the night, and he feared he only had the clothes on his back, possibly for the next few days.

Covey said crews have created barriers with sandbags in case of a chemical spill from the tank to prevent the toxic chemical from entering storm drains or reaching creeks or the nearby ocean.

Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, the province’s health officer, said if the chemical heats up, it could release a vapor that is harmful to people’s health. It can cause breathing problems, itching and burning eyes, nausea and headaches.

Crews were initially successful and were able to neutralize one of the two damaged tanks, but Covey said Friday morning that the remaining tank was “in the greatest crisis.”

GKN Aerospace said specialized hazardous materials teams are assessing the situation.

“There are no reports of injuries at this time and our priority remains the safety of our employees, first responders and the surrounding community,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “We will provide verified updates as more information becomes available.”

Kim Yen, a retiree in Garden Grove, was getting ready for the night Thursday when she heard a siren-like sound coming from her phone. A warning told her to leave her home, which was just two blocks from the chemical leak.

As Yen drove to her daughter’s home in Seal Beach, she worried that others in the local Vietnamese community would ignore or not understand the evacuation alert because it was in English.

“They’re family,” she said. “I hope they stay alert and listen to the news and the authorities. This is scary.”

Yen, who is originally from Vietnam and has lived in Orange County since 1980, quickly stopped by her home Friday morning to pick up important documents and medicine. By then, her neighborhood was “a ghost town,” and she took comfort in police officers going door to door to make sure everyone had been evacuated.

“We understand this is scary,” Garden Grove Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein said. “But the evacuation orders are in place for your safety.”

Local Vietnamese television stations translated updates from officials and urged residents to take the situation seriously.