About 40,000 people have been ordered to evacuate in southern California after a tank containing hazardous chemicals risked leaking or exploding at an aerospace facility in Orange County, media reports said on Saturday.
Residents in six cities in Orange County were told to leave their homes on Friday after a storage tank containing up to 7,000 gallons (26,500 litres) of methyl methacrylate — a highly flammable chemical used in plastics production — began to fail the previous evening, Al Jazeera reported.
The tank is one of three located at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, about 49 kilometres (30 miles) from Los Angeles. The company manufactures parts for several aviation firms, including Airbus and Boeing.
Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Craig Covey said the tank could either rupture, spilling chemicals and creating a toxic plume, or explode.
“That’s the best-case scenario, believe it or not, because once it comes out, it’s no longer an explosive hazard and our hazmat teams in their chemical protective suits can go in and neutralise and mitigate the vapours coming off the leak,” Covey said.
Firefighters managed to reduce the tank’s temperature from a safe distance, giving crews more time to stabilise the situation.
Garden Grove Police Chief Amir El-Farra said more than 4,000 residents had refused to evacuate, while Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein urged those still in the area to leave immediately.
More than a dozen schools were also closed, and officials said it remained unclear how long the evacuation order would stay in effect.
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