About 40,000 evacuated in Garden Grove as methyl methacrylate tank failure risk persists

The incident unfolded at a manufacturing facility operated by GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, California, where a large storage tank containing thousands of gallons of methyl methacrylate — a highly flammable industrial chemical used in plastics manufacturing — overheated and began venting vapors.

A damaged chemical tank in Southern California cracked over the weekend, which authorities were hopeful would relieve pressure and reduce the risk of an explosion.Some 50,000 residents in Garden Grove, a city of roughly 170,000 about 40 miles (60 kilometers) south of downtown Los Angeles, have been evacuated and are waiting for a resolution. The tank overheated Thursday and began venting vapors, leaving local and state officials scrambling to evade a worst possible scenario at the aerospace company site.No injuries have been reported.Fire officials planned to send in a team for “an all-night mission” to determine if the pressure has been relieved, which would reduce the worst-case scenario of an explosion, Orange County Fire Authority interim chief TJ McGovern said in a video posted late Sunday to the agency’s X account.“We are not there yet,” McGovern said, urging residents to stay out of the evacuation zone while crews continued operations overnight.In a follow-up update posted on X, the Orange County Fire Authority said there was one known crack on the tank, disputing reports circulating online of multiple cracks. Officials also said there was no active leak and that continuous atmospheric monitoring confirmed no chemicals were escaping from the tank.Firefighters have repeatedly sprayed the tank with water in an attempt to cool the chemical inside, methyl methacrylate, which is used to make plastic parts. The tank’s interior reached 100 degrees (37.7 Celsius) Sunday, an increase of 10 degrees Fahrenheit (5.5 Celsius) since Saturday, according to Democratic state Sen. Tom Umberg.Fire officials said a crack discovered in the tank over the weekend may have helped relieve pressure, reducing the risk of a catastrophic explosion. Officials working to prevent a disaster Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Saturday and said he asked President Donald Trump to issue an emergency declaration to bolster federal support for local and state officials.The tank at GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, which makes parts for commercial and military aircraft, holds 6,000 to 7,000 gallons (22,700 to 26,500 liters) of methyl methacrylate used to make plastic parts.Monitoring tests found air pollution around the evacuation zone was within normal limits and specialized equipment is being used to ensure gas is not released, state and federal environmental officials said Saturday.The first goal of firefighters is to cool off the chemical inside the tank to prevent a leak or explosion.Drones were monitoring temperatures at 10-minute intervals to watch for any spikes. Containment barriers have been set up to prevent the chemical from getting into storm drains or reaching creeks or the nearby ocean in the event of a spill, Orange County Fire Authority division chief Craig Covey said on social media.As the interior temperature rises, methyl methacrylate converts from a liquid to a gas and increases the pressure, according to Purdue University engineering professor Andrew Whelton, who said the crack could mean product or pressure is being released, reducing the chance of explosion.“Think of a soda can. If you leave it in a hot car it can explode,” Whelton said. “But if you put a hole in the can, the product is released and the can itself doesn’t explode.”Firefighters are unlikely to consider making a hole in the tank, fearing a spark that might ignite the volatile and flammable gas. An explosion that could spread the chemical over a broad area and send shrapnel flying would be the worst-case scenario, he said. Dealing with displacement and health concerns Aerial photos taken by The Associated Press showed streets in the area were empty Sunday, while several evacuation shelters were open. At a high school in neighboring La Palma, people slept in cars or on mats and sleeping bags on the asphalt.Garden Grove is next to Anaheim, home to Disneyland’s two theme parks, which were not under evacuation orders. Park officials said they were monitoring the situation.Exposure to methyl methacrylate can cause serious respiratory problems, neurological problems and irritation to the skin, eyes and throat, according to fact sheets about the chemical.Whelton said if an explosion occurs, it will be crucial to conduct detailed air monitoring specifically for methyl methacrylate and not just generic tests for volatile organic compounds as officials did after a 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which released more than 115,000 gallons (435,000 liters) of vinyl chloride after officials blew open five tank cars and burned the chemical.Orange County health officials said the chemical is easy to smell and people may notice it over a large area without being harmed. Residents taking legal action Some Garden Grove residents filed a class-action federal lawsuit Saturday against GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, which operates the facility where the tank is located. Lawyers for the residents argued that regardless of what happens, property values in the surrounding community are sure to be impacted.GKN Aerospace did not comment on the lawsuit but has apologized to residents and businesses forced to evacuate. It said Sunday it was “working around the clock to mitigate the risk of a leak.”GKN Aerospace agreed in 2025 to pay state regulators more than $900,000 to settle violations involving recordkeeping, permitting issues and nitrogen oxide emissions, according to a report on the South Coast Air Quality Management District website. Associated Press journalist Ethan Swope in Garden Grove, California, contributed to this report. —Philip Marcelo, Associated Press

Authorities scrambled to find a safe resolution as a damaged tank at a Southern California aerospace facility containing a hazardous chemical used to make plastic parts prompted an evacuation order affecting thousands of residents. The storage tank at GKN Aerospace with about 22,713 to 26,498 litres of methyl methacrylate overheated last week and began leaking vapours into the air around Garden Grove, a city in Orange County. Officials said over the weekend the tank could leak all the chemical or even explode if it overheats. No injuries have been reported, but more than 50,000 residents were under an evacuation order over the Memorial Day weekend. Firefighters sprayed the tank with water in an effort to cool the chemicals heating up inside. Why is this chemical dangerous? ------------------------------------ Methyl methacrylate is a flammable, colourless liquid used in the production of resins, plastics and plastic dentures and is a hazardous substance regulated by the federal ..

Newsom Declares Emergency In Orange County; EPA Head Says Chemical Tank Will "Likely Fail" The head of the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said Sunday that a chemical storage tank in Southern California that has forced officials to declare an emergency and prompted evacuation orders for tens of thousands residents is likely to fail. Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the EPA, told CNN’s “State of the Union” program on Sunday that the “most likely scenario” is a “low-volume release” of the tank, where officials will be able to “monitor, neutralize, and contain the threat.” “The Orange County Fire Authority is working to keep the temperature of the tank down. That is very important,” he said on CNN, referring to the fire department in the Southern California county. He said keeping the temperature under 85 degrees F is key. But, as Jack Phillips reports for The Epoch Times, Zeldin warned: “We’re being told that the tank will fail, but there are different scenarios as to what that means, the most catastrophic scenario being an explosion that results in other tanks to explode. That’s the reason why you see such a big evacuation that’s been done in the surrounding areas.” “You have all levels of government, local, state, federal, working together. EPA has personnel on the ground, air monitors deployed in the local community,” Zeldin also said. “We have been involved in the modeling of different scenarios.” Drones were monitoring temperatures at 10-minute intervals to watch for any spikes and planning was underway to ensure a possible leak could quickly be prevented from spreading into waterways or the ocean, Covey said in a video released online. “Sitting back and allowing these tanks to fail is unacceptable,” Covey said, adding there was no guarantee tanks will not breach and leak. “Our goal is to protect your homes—no damage to them—and protect the environment.” As of Sunday morning, Zeldin said: “This is an emergency response. This isn’t yet an environmental response, and the scale of that environmental response will be determined based off of what happens when that tank fails.” As a result of these warnings, Phillips reports that California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Orange County. “The safety of Orange County residents is the top priority. We are mobilizing every state resource available to support local responders and make sure the community has what they need to stay safe,” Newsom said. The malfunctioning tank holds approximately 5,000 to 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate, a flammable and volatile chemical used in plastics manufacturing for aerospace applications. The tank, located at a manufacturing facility in Garden Grove, first started displaying signs of instability on Thursday. On Friday, there were increased fears of an explosion, according to Orange County Fire Authority interim Chief TJ McGovern. Approximately 50,000 residents were evacuated in Garden Grove, which is home to around 172,000 people and located 30 miles south of Los Angeles. The governor’s proclamation directs all state agencies and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to support Orange County and impacted areas, and unlocks additional emergency response resources and authorities. Tyler Durden Sun, 05/24/2026 - 18:05

40,000 Evacuated In Southern California As Chemical Tank Threatens Leak Or Explosion Authored by Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times, Roughly 40,000 people in Garden Grove, a Los Angeles suburb, were evacuated on Friday after a chemical storage tank was determined to be at risk of failing and spilling thousands of gallons of toxic material or exploding. The malfunctioning tank holds methyl methacrylate, a flammable and volatile chemical used in plastics manufacturing for aerospace applications, igniting widespread worries over potential toxic vapor release. The situation broke out Thursday, when the tank at a manufacturing facility started displaying signs of instability. By Friday, an update increased fears of an explosion, Orange County Fire Authority interim Chief TJ McGovern said. On Friday, employees saw that the tank was bulging, a sign it was still “actively in crisis,” as one official described it. The manufacturer said a valve had been damaged, preventing a controlled release. Firefighters were working to cool the tanks with a mechanical device operated from a safe distance, stabilizing the temperature and buying critical time, officials said. “I know I keep talking about we were handed this situation where there’s only two things that can happen: it could crack and leak, or it could blow up. That’s not acceptable to us,” Craig Covey, division chief of the Orange County Fire Authority, said in a video posted on social media. Covey added in a later video, “I have an entire team actively working locally, regionally, across the state, and across the country, to try to figure out how to fix this.” He said he is working to “get all these brilliant minds together to put a plan together, so that we don’t let this blow up.” In an earlier announcement, Covey said the tank could fail and spill up to 7,000 gallons of toxic chemicals or explode and compromise neighboring tanks. Garden Grove, which is home to 172,000 residents, is located approximately 30 miles south of Los Angeles. The evacuation zone affected neighborhoods in and around the city, and extends to nearby areas including parts of Anaheim, Cypress, Stanton, Buena Park, and Westminster. Officials established three evacuation shelters in Garden Grove, Anaheim, and Cypress. Schools and roads in the affected areas were closed. Garden Grove Police Chief Amir El-Farra said approximately 15 percent of those under evacuation orders were refusing to leave. Health officials said that released vapor could prompt severe respiratory issues with prolonged exposure. Air quality monitors, however, had not detected any vapor as of Friday, said Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong of the Orange County Health Care Agency. “You are safe as long as you are out of the zone that was determined to be an evacuation zone,” Chinsio-Kwong said. Methyl methacrylate has a sharp, fruity odor. Some residents miles away reported smelling it amid the unfolding events. The chemical is used in aerospace plastics manufacturing. Tyler Durden Sat, 05/23/2026 - 09:55

Authorities in Orange county say tank holding methyl methacrylate ‘actively in crisis’ and urge residents to leaveAuthorities in Orange county, California have ordered the evacuation of 40,000 people Friday over concerns about a chemical leak that threatened to spill or explode.The problem arose on Thursday at a facility owned by GKN Aerospace in the town of Garden Grove, where a storage tank holding methyl methacrylate began off-gassing and threatened to fail. The chemical, which is highly flammable, is used to fabricate resins and plastics. Continue reading...