Several blocks in Garden Grove were evacuated Thursday afternoon as toxic chemicals spewed into the air from a leaking storage tank at an aerospace company, authorities said.
The Orange County Fire Authority responded to reports of a hazardous materials incident at a business in the 12000 block of Western Avenue at 3:30 p.m., according to agency spokesperson Larry Kurtz. Upon arriving at the scene, they determined that methyl methacrylate, a volatile liquid used to make plastic, was leaking out of a 34,000-gallon vat.
“The company actually creates acrylic plastics for the aerospace industry and that’s the reason for the chemical,” said Kurtz. “The problem with this chemical is it is a possible flammable liquid and it does have exothermic properties.” This means that the chemical can release heat when a reaction is triggered.
The incident appeared to take place at GKN Aerospace, which builds engine structures, landing gear and other products for commercial and military aircraft.
To minimize any potential health risk, areas north of Garden Grove Boulevard, east of Monarch Street, south of Orangewood Avenue and west of Beach Boulevard were evacuated. A reunification point was set up at Rancho Alamitos High School at 11351 Dale St.
Kurtz said the evacuations were a precautionary measure, “so if anything bad were to happen, we’re dealing with property damage and not life safety.”
The Fire Department was spraying water at the tank to cool down the chemical, said Kurtz. The leak also triggered the business’ automatic sprinkler system. He said it would take a couple of hours to mitigate the chemical leak, after which investigators will focus on determining the cause of the incident.
OnScene.TV contributed to this report.
