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

GKN Aerospace, the facility at a dangerous chemical leak in Garden Grove, released a statement on Friday evening, saying the safety of employees, responders and the surrounding community is the priority.

In a statement sent to Eyewitness News, a spokesperson for GKN Aerospace said:

"We are currently responding to a situation at our Garden Grove site. Emergency response protocols were activated and Fire Brigade and specialized hazardous material teams remain on site and assessing the situation. There are no reports of injuries at this time and our priority remains the safety of our employees, responders, and the surrounding community. We will provide verified updates as soon as more information becomes available."

GKN Aerospace is a global company with facilities in 12 countries.

GKN Aerospace supplies other companies with various aircraft components, providing those parts to both commercial and military aircraft.

An "emergency hazmat incident" in Garden Grove has prompted evacuations, with officials warning that a chemical tank at an aerospace facility is in "crisis" and will either fail or explode.

The site in Garden Grove specifically designs military canopies, cockpit windows and passenger windows.

The F-35 canopy is manufactured from the Garden Grove facility. They also manufacture "transparencies," which are the interior glass panels for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the 737, the Airbus A350, HondaJet and the Bombardier CSeries.

The toxic chemical inside the large storage tank that was leaking in Garden Grove is methyl methacrylate, or MMA.

It is a highly volatile and flammable chemical that, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, is used to make resins and plastics.

Doctors say the chemical can irritate the skin and eyes.

Short-term exposure - such as inhalation - can cause significant irritation of the lungs and nasal passages. It can also lead to nausea and dizziness.

More severe effects are also possible.

"At very high levels, it can really cause severe respiratory distress and hospitalization and this is where we really need everybody to heed all the evacuation orders," said Orange County Deputy Health Officer Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong.

What can exposure to methyl methacrylate, MMA, do to humans? The toxic chemical was leaking from a tank in Garden Grove.

As for long-term effects, doctors say it may impact other organs.

The chemical can also affect birds and other animals, though the effects may vary by species.

First responders are also taking into account the potential for a hazardous plume.

Officials said they are actively monitoring air quality and, as of early Friday afternoon, levels were within normal limits.

Authorities are calling a toxic chemical leak in Garden Grove a "crisis situation," triggering evacuation orders for roughly 40,000 residents and school closures.

The tank at GKN Aerospace is carrying a highly toxic and flammable chemical used to make plastics. Now, fire crews say the tank is going to fail in one of two ways: either with a spill of thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals or an explosion. Authorities just don't know when or how it will end.

"There are literally two options left remaining," Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) Division Chief Craig Covey said. "One, the tank fails and spills a total of about 6,000 to 7,000 gallons of very bad chemicals into the parking lot in that area, or two, the tank goes into a thermal runaway and blows up, affecting the tanks that are around them that have fuel or the chemicals in them as well."

Covey stressed that "there is no active gas leak, no plume in the area," but he warned residents to heed the evacuation warnings and remain out of the area due to the possible spill or explosion. Officials said air quality was being actively monitored in the area, and all readings were still within healthy limits.

Fire crews say the chemical spill is the better outcome because they have set up a containment barrier around the tank to prevent the material from entering storm drains, river channels or reaching the ocean. Still, there's no telling what will happen.

Covey said a spill of the chemical is actually the "best-case scenario and, believe it or not," favorable to an explosion and a possible plume of toxic material spreading over the area.

City News Service contributed to this report.