It was a very busy Memorial Day for emergency response crews in Southern California.
Over the past few days, I have been following developments regarding a chemical storage tank at GKN Aerospace’s Garden Grove facility containing approximately 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate (MMA) that was potentially experiencing a critical thermal runaway.
The compound is used to make plastics. However, if polymerization is not controlled, there is a risk of an explosion and the release of the monomer (MMA), which could cause significant adverse health effects in anyone exposed.
“It’s durable, lightweight, transparent, so it could even be used as a substitute for glass,” Elias Picazo, assistant professor of chemistry at USC, said of the final plastic product. The polymer can also be used in household goods.The polymer itself isn’t toxic, but its liquid MMA predecessor — a monomer, essentially a bunch of single molecules — is. If it gets into the air, it can harm people at high concentrations and through chronic or extended exposure.“The other hazard is the explosion itself. And it sounds like it’s already the reaction has already initiated, and that’s where the worry comes in for the explosion,” Picazo said.In chemistry, there’s a concept known as “thermal runaway reactions. And those are really hard to control,” Picazo said.
As of this Monday morning, the threat of a catastrophic explosion has been significantly reduced, though the incident remains ongoing with continued safety concerns, and thousands are still under evacuation orders.
There is no longer a threat of a catastrophic explosion at a tank filled with a toxic chemical at the GKN Aerospace facility in Garden Grove, officials says Monday.The “crisis situation” has forced 50,000 people out of their homes in Orange County for several days.Crews worked overnight on a risky mission to confirm if the pressure in the tank was releasing after a crack was discovered.In a Monday morning update, the Orange County Fire Authority said the threat of a BLEVE, which stands for Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion, at the site “is now off the table.”
President Donald Trump approved an emergency declaration for this incident.
Trump’s approval of a federal emergency declaration unlocks assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as hundreds of emergency workers continue to battle the hazardous materials crisis in Orange County. Roughly 50,000 people were forced to evacuate the area.The jockeying for credit was in full swing Monday as Newsom’s office put out a press release touting its quick actions to address the potential disaster.“California didn’t wait for this situation to escalate — we moved early, aggressively, and in close partnership with local responders to protect lives and support impacted communities,” Newsom said in a statement.“We are grateful for the federal government approving our request and helping strengthen the resources already on the ground to help this community recover safely.”
Meanwhile, just up the road a bit, Los Angeles County Fire Department crews battled a large fire that broke out at a tire and automotive parts facility in South Gate.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn shared a post on X that said a shelter-in-place order was issued for people living in the surrounding community. The order was lifted at around 7:30 p.m.South Gate Police Department officers said Gardendale Street and Industrial Street were closed to the public due to the fire and advised people to seek alternate routes or expect delays.Aerial footage showed a massive plume of black smoke rising above the property. Large flames had engulfed what appeared to be salvaged automotive parts. Firefighters were seen using extended ladders to douse the flames from above.At around 4:20 p.m., LACoFD crews said the fire was extinguished and that crews would remain on scene to fully contain the incident.
The cause of the incident is still under investigation.
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