Garden Grove chemical tank update: Cleanup efforts to begin and legal claims mount

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. (KABC) -- There is no longer a threat of explosion, fire or chemical leak for a damaged tank at the GKN Aerospace facility in Garden Grove, the Orange County Fire Authority announced on Tuesday night.

All evacuation orders were officially lifted at 7:30 p.m., allowing the final 16,000 evacuated Orange County residents to return home. Initially, 50,000 residents were evacuated from their homes last week.

A tank carrying 6,500 gallons of the highly toxic chemical methyl methacrylate (MMA) became unstable last week, causing the tank to heat up uncontrollably. For a few days, officials said the tank would either explode or spill out, and either outcome was inevitable.

Eventually, the tank cracked, allowing the pressure to release and eliminating the threat of a BLEVE, which stands for Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion.

Then, crews worked a risky mission to confirm that the pressure had been released and to remove weather insulation from the outside of the tank to help the water be more efficient at cooling the temperature down.

Still, a threat remained for a fire or a small explosion. Firefighters continued to try to get the tank to stabilize and were eventually able to stop dousing it with water. On Tuesday afternoon, crews were seen freely walking around the tank and climbing on top of it.

By Tuesday night, OCFA declared that there was no longer a risk to surrounding residents and all evacuation orders were lifted. No injuries were reported.

The investigation into what caused the material in the tank to overheat is ongoing. Residents have already filed a class action lawsuit against GKN Aerospace.

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