A 34,000-gallon tank at a Garden Grove aerospace facility leaked toxic chemicals into the sky Thursday afternoon, forcing evacuations across a stretch of the city after firefighters were called to the scene just before 3:40 p.m.
Orange County Fire Authority crews went to the GKN Aerospace facility in the 12000 block of Western Avenue after a hazardous materials call and found a tank leaking methyl methacrylate, a liquid used to make acrylic plastics. The agency said the chemical is a flammable, self-heating substance and that firefighters were using unmanned high-powered hoses to cool the tank while industrial cleanup contractors handled the next phase of the response.
The evacuations covered buildings from Western Boulevard to Beach Boulevard and from Garden Grove Boulevard to Orangewood Avenue. A reunification center was set up at Rancho Alamitos High School on Dale Street, giving displaced workers and residents a place to regroup while crews worked the leak.
About four hours after firefighters arrived, the chemical temperature rose enough to trigger a relief valve and the sprinkler system designed to cool the tank if it starts leaking. OCFA said vapor conditions later improved, indicating the liquid temperature was decreasing.
The incident did not injure anyone, but investigators had not said what caused the leak. That leaves the biggest question in Garden Grove still open: how a tank holding a volatile industrial chemical began releasing material in the first place, and whether the site’s safety systems will be enough if it happens again.
The company operating out of the building develops plastic components for the aerospace industry, which helps explain why methyl methacrylate was stored there in such large volume. The evacuation zone and reunification site showed how quickly a leak inside one industrial building can spill into surrounding neighborhoods, even when the response is fast and no one is hurt.
