Potential Crack in GKN Aerospace Chemical Tank Prompts Evacuations in Garden Grove, California

A damaged chemical tank at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, California sparked a state of emergency and evacuation orders for thousands of residents after the tank appeared to have cracked, with Orange County Fire Authority interim chief TJ McGovern saying, "What they found was a potential crack in the tank."

“Dangers from damaged California chemical tank persist”

ABC News

NPR reported that the tank sits in the southeastern corner of the GKN Aerospace facility and holds somewhere around 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate, a highly toxic, highly flammable chemical used in the manufacturing of resins and plastics.

ABC News

Officials said the incident began Thursday and that the chemicals in the tank began to exceed a safe temperature, while firefighters continuously sprayed the tank with water to keep it cool.

CBS News said crews discovered a possible pressure-relieving crack in the tank behind a in Orange County, where 50,000 people remain evacuated, and TJ McGovern wrote on X that the discovery still needs validating.

Craig Covey told reporters that if the damaged tank cracked, it could be the best outcome, because if it comes out it is no longer an explosive hazard.

ABC News said the storage tank at GKN Aerospace had about 6,000 to 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate and that over the weekend more than 50,000 residents were under an evacuation order over the Memorial Day weekend.

Authorities said the tank could leak all the chemical or even explode if it overheats, and ABC News reported that firefighters sprayed the tank with water in an effort to cool the chemicals heating up inside.

Associated Press

On Sunday, EPA chief Lee Zeldin said the most likely scenario is a "low-volume release" so officials can "monitor, neutralize, and contain the threat," while Orange County's top health officer Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong said inhaling the vapor could cause irritation to the eyes, nose and lungs and may cause a sore throat, burning eyes and even dizziness.

KTLA’s timeline described evacuation orders being reissued at 6:30 a.m. "due to changing conditions," and it quoted Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Craig Covey warning, "This is not precautionary… this thing is going to fail, and we don’t know when."

BBC reported that officials found a "potential crack" in the tank and said the aerospace facility is about 5 miles (8km) from the Disneyland theme park, which was outside the evacuation zone and open as normal.

Officials said the cause of the failing tank is under investigation, and BBC reported that an "inoperable valve" created additional operational challenges while crews kept spraying the tank to stabilise the temperature.

“California declares emergency as fire crews race to contain toxic leak California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency as crews race to contain a toxic chemical leak at a manufacturing facility in Orange County”

BBC

CBS News said Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Orange County on Saturday and then requested that President Trump issue an Emergency Declaration to activate FEMA and allow federal funding to flow in.

CBS News also reported that Democratic U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, and Orange County Rep. Derek Tran, co-signed a letter to Trump urging him to approve the state's request for a Federal Emergency Declaration, stating, "The severity of this disaster requires additional coordination and federal support."

NPR said the tank is being continuously sprayed with water to keep it cool and that firefighters laid down sand and other materials to stem the flow of the chemical into nearby storm drains and waterways.

In a separate update, the BBC quoted TJ McGovern saying, "What they found was a potential crack in the tank which could potentially be relieving some of the pressure in there," while also warning that experts were analyzing the data and expecting "a lot more information coming today".