California Residents Return Home After Chemical Tank Scare, but Fears Linger

For many Southern California residents who were evacuated after a chemical tank overheated at an aerospace plant, the relief of finally being allowed to return home has been overshadowed by lingering fears of living near the facility. A valve on the tank's cooling system failed, forcing 50,000 people to evacuate in and around Garden Grove, Orange County, last week as officials warned of a potential catastrophic explosion.

The tank cracked by chance, relieving pressure and eventually allowing residents to return after the temperature stabilized without intervention.

Bobbi-Lee Smart returned home Monday but still keeps her suitcase, cat carriers, and important documents ready to leave at a moment's notice. “I won’t even open the doors and windows in my house because I don’t know for sure that the air is safe,” said Smart, who lives in Anaheim, next to Garden Grove.

“How do we know it is stable?”

The tank at GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, which makes cockpit windows and windshields, contains 6,000 to 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate, a highly flammable chemical. Exposure can cause serious respiratory problems, neurological issues, and skin irritation, according to the EPA.

On Wednesday, the tank's temperature remained stable at 91 degrees Fahrenheit without sprinklers, said Orange County Fire Captain Yau. Health officials have assured residents no contamination or fumes were released and will monitor air, sewer, and storm drains for months.

Smart said the company should have been scrutinized earlier due to a record of violations and feels it needs to leave the densely populated, working-class neighborhood, but not before compensating residents and business owners. “The reality is the company has broken the public trust,” she said.

GKN Aerospace, based in the UK, said it is cooperating with authorities and working with nonprofits to help the community recover.

A lawsuit filed on behalf of a couple living near GKN alleges the company failed to protect neighbors from “foreseeable chemical releases, toxic vapor migration, evacuation conditions, and catastrophic industrial failures.” Residents reported strong odors, respiratory irritation, headaches, and dizziness. At a city council meeting Tuesday night, residents questioned why the plant was allowed so close to homes.

The Orange County District Attorney’s office is investigating, and Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein pledged accountability.

Last year, GKN agreed to pay state regulators over $900,000 to settle violations involving recordkeeping, permitting, and nitrogen oxide emissions. OSHA has inspected the facility four times since 2018, resulting in 10 violations.

In 2019, the California Department of Industrial Relations sought a court order for $2,898 in unpaid civil penalties for failing to inspect machinery as recommended. None of the violations appear related to the overheated tank.

Purdue University engineering professor Andrew Whelton said the tank likely needs replacement and compared the crisis to a 2014 chemical spill in Charleston, West Virginia, where storage tanks failed, preventing tap water use for days. That disaster inspired a state law requiring more inspections of aboveground storage tanks.

Freedom Industries later declared bankruptcy, and two officials were sent to prison on federal pollution charges.