Monterey County Marks Pride Month; Aerospace Plant Leak Exposes Regulatory Gaps

Cities across Monterey County are marking Pride Month with flag-raising ceremonies and events. The Monterey County Board of Supervisors raised a pride flag in Salinas today.

Over the weekend, Marina, Monterey, and Del Rey Oaks held flag-raising ceremonies, and Seaside had one yesterday. More ceremonies are scheduled throughout the county this week.

The main event, Monterey Peninsula Pride, is set for June 27.

In other news, a new report from CalMatters reveals that a chemical that could have triggered a massive explosion at an aerospace plant in Garden Grove, Orange County, may fall outside California's toughest safety regulations. Over Memorial Day Weekend, more than 50,000 people were evacuated from Orange County because a tank at the plant was at risk of exploding.

The chemical, methyl methacrylate, is used to make hard clear plastics like aircraft windows. When it overheats, it reacts with itself, building pressure that can rupture a tank.

According to CalMatters, methyl methacrylate is not regulated under the U.S. EPA's Risk Management Program or California's parallel system.

This means the damaged tank may have been overseen under an alternate hazardous-materials program, leaving regulators with fewer tools to manage its storage. Facilities housing methyl methacrylate may also be excluded from community emergency planning because the substance is not regulated under federal and state accident prevention programs.

This could leave nearby residents without information about the risks they face or how officials would respond in the event of a catastrophe.