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40,000 under evacuation orders as crews work to prevent hazmat explosion in Southern California
Authorities in Orange County say they’re unable to control the valves on a tank that contains methyl methacrylate, a chemical used in the manufacture of resins and plastics.
www.nbcnews.com
By Dennis Romero
Authorities in Southern California are racing to prevent a potential hazmat explosion at an aerospace manufacturing facility in Garden Grove, where an estimated 40,000 people are under evacuation orders.
Additional evacuation shelters opened Saturday morning as emergency crews worked through the night to stabilize the tank, which contains methyl methacrylate, a toxic chemical used to manufacture resins and plastics, including Plexiglass.
Officials said Friday night that cooling efforts appeared to be lowering the tank’s temperature and buying time for engineers and hazmat experts to test what Orange County Fire Authority incident commander Craig Covey called “outside-the-box” ideas aimed at preventing a disaster.
“It is not OK with me just to sit back and watch this thing blow up or fail,” Covey said.
Initial evacuation orders were issued Thursday after a “vapor release” at the manufacturing site. The situation seemed to be stable, but fire authorities said Friday that valves on a tank became inoperable.
“We are setting up these evacuations in preparation for these two options: It fails or it blows up,” Covey said.
Covey said Friday that the tank’s temperature had dropped to about 61 degrees after crews sprayed a continuous curtain of water on it. The chemical’s “happy place” is at 50 degrees, he said.
The lower temperatures might allow fire personnel to get closer to the tank overnight to implement some of the ideas submitted to authorities, he said.
A “full night shift” was assigned to the emergency, and another update is expected Saturday morning.
In a video announcement, Covey urged caution for people in the area of the leak, which includes parts of the cities of Garden Grove, Cypress, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park and Westminster.
Garden Grove is about 35 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
“It is a highly toxic substance,” OCFA Division Chief Nick Freeman said at an afternoon news briefing. “It’s extremely flammable and in its current state very reactive, and can cause that explosion.”
The tank was not emitting the chemical on Friday, authorities said, and no injuries have been reported.
Major Southern California attractions remained open Saturday as officials monitored the situation. Knott’s Berry Farm, located about 6 miles north of the site, said it has not been impacted and was coordinating with fire officials.
“The safety and wellbeing of our guests and team members is a cornerstone of our business,” a park spokesperson said Friday. “We are working closely with our partners at the Orange County Fire Authority to actively monitor the situation. At this time, the park has not been impacted.”
