Southern California: 40,000 ordered to evacuate over threat of chemical explosion | US News

Around 40,000 people have been ordered to evacuate amid the threat of a chemical tank explosion in southern California.

Authorities in Orange County are attempting to prevent a potential blast from a leaking storage tank at GKN Aerospace’s manufacturing facility in Garden Grove.

Fire officials have been unable to control the valves on the industrial tank, which holds between 6,000 and 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate – a hazardous and highly flammable chemical used to make plastic parts.

The tank, which could explode, has already been venting vapours into the air after it overheated on Thursday, officials say.

It was not emitting the chemical on Friday, authorities said, and no injuries have been reported.

The tank may fail and crack, releasing the chemical onto the ground, or it could blow up, Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) Division Chief Craig Covey warned on Friday.

He said: “This thing is going to fail, and we don’t know when… we’re doing our best to figure out when or how we can prevent it.”

Residents in Garden Grove, around 38 miles from downtown Los Angeles, were ordered to evacuate.

The evacuation orders have been extended to some residents of five other Orange County cities – Cypress, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park and Westminster.

Mr Covey added: “We are setting up these evacuations in preparation for these two options: it fails or it blows up.”

Garden Grove Police Chief Amir El-Farra told reporters that the evacuation zone includes about 40,000 people.

In an update on Friday, Mr Covey said authorities have been able to maintain the tank’s temperature, buying time to figure out how to fix it.

He added that crews have set up sandbag containment barriers in case of a chemical spill from the tank to prevent the toxic chemical from entering storm drains or reaching nearby creeks or the ocean.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, methyl methacrylate can cause lung and skin irritation, headaches, coughing and wheezing.

It has been suggested, but not proven, as a possible cause of colon and rectal cancers.

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OCFA Division Chief Nick Freeman added during a news conference that the chemical is “extremely flammable and in its current state very reactive, and can cause that explosion”.

And Dr Regina Chinsio-Kwong, the county health officer, said if the chemical heats up, it can release a vapour that is harmful to people’s health.

“We understand that this is frightening,” Garden Grove mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein added. “But the evacuation orders are in place for your safety.”

A GKN spokesperson said on the company’s website on Saturday: “We sincerely apologise for the significant disruption to the many local residents and businesses who have had to be evacuated.

“We are working tirelessly with all relevant experts to resolve this situation as safely as possible and in a timely manner and are deeply grateful for the continued skill and dedication of the Orange County emergency services.”