Chemical tank leak forces evacuation of 40,000 people in Southern California

Los Angeles (ANTARA) - About 40,000 residents in Southern California were under an evacuation order on Friday after a leak from a storage tank containing a highly explosive industrial chemical at an aerospace manufacturing facility, triggering fears of a major explosion or toxic spill. Authorities said the leak began on Thursday (21/5) afternoon local time at a facility in Garden Grove, a city in Orange County, where a storage tank that had overheated started releasing hazardous vapours. Methyl methacrylate is a highly flammable chemical used in the production of acrylic plastic. Officials said the facility operated by GKN Aerospace had a total of three storage tanks, and one of them experienced a cooling system failure. Emergency responders initially believed the situation had been stabilised overnight, but conditions worsened on Friday, prompting authorities to expand evacuation orders, forcing school closures and emergency responses in several towns. Residents in Garden Grove and surrounding areas were affected by the evacuation orders after emergency officials warned that the problematic tank could rupture and spill thousands of gallons of chemical or explode. ‘This tank will rupture, and we don’t know when,’ said Craig Covey, head of the Orange County Fire Authority, at a public briefing. There were no reports of injuries or fatalities in the incident.