If the failing chemical tank in Orange County does explode, the aerospace plant where it sits and dozens of homes surrounding it could suffer severe damage, according to a map released by authorities Saturday.
Areas within roughly 1,100 feet of the tank would suffer severe damage; and beyond that, areas within about 0.3 miles, moderate damage; and beyond that, areas within about 0.4 miles, light damage, from the blast.
Officials have stressed they are working to avoid an explosion and are trying to keep the chemical inside the damaged tank at the aerospace facility as cool as possible. They said they have received help from experts nationally to come up with alternatives plans. Nothing specific, however, has been mentioned.
Areas within the severe blast zone represent “areas where we can expect severe structural damage and significant harm,” said Nick Freeman, an Orange County Fire Authority division chief. There are dozens of homes in that area in a neighborhood of the city of Stanton, including along Santa Rosalia Street, south of Laurelton Avenue and north of Lampson Avenue.
In the moderate blast zone, “we would expect again structural damage and harm to those within that zone,” Freeman said.
The light damage zone includes Wakeham Elementary School and a Home Depot on the corner of Chapman Avenue and Beach Boulevard. “There, we might see some structural damage, but it would be a little bit more limited,” Freeman said.
The map also showed oblong shapes above the tank site. The area in red showed “areas of flammability where we could have fire or flash fire in those zones,” Freeman said. The large orange oblong zone “represents areas that are immediately dangerous to life and health, where it would cause injury if anybody inhales or is impacted by the product in question.”
And a larger yellow zone is an area where the chemical can be smelled, but at nontoxic levels.
The question, experts say, is whether officials can somehow deal with the dangerous chemicals in a way that does not end in a blast or the type of spill that causes environmental degradation.
“We are working nationally with experts all across the country trying to find the third solution,” Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen told The Times. “Maybe, if possible, the third solution could be to contain the liquid and freeze or maybe turn it into a solid, we don’t know.”
Eric Licas contributed to this report.
