US California declares state of emergency in Orange County after chemical incident

Los Angeles: California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Orange County as emergency crews worked to cool down a tank containing volatile industrial chemicals at an aerospace manufacturing facility in Garden Grove.

“The safety of Orange County residents is the top priority,” Newsom said in a statement on Saturday, adding that California was deploying all available resources to support responders and affected communities, Xinhua news agency reported.

Taking to social media platform X, Newsom posted: “I’m proclaiming a state of emergency in Orange County as California continues to respond to the hazardous chemical incident in Garden Grove. @Cal_OES has been mobilized for over 24 hours and state agencies are supporting impacted communities to protect public safety, and assist local officials as response efforts continue. Please continue to follow guidance from emergency officials.”

The emergency order allows the state to mobilize additional resources and accelerate coordination among local, state and federal agencies responding to the crisis at the GKN Aerospace plant in Garden Grove, where a tank holding methyl methacrylate (MMA) has remained at an unstable temperature for days. MMA is a highly flammable industrial chemical used in acrylic plastics and aerospace manufacturing.

The situation has grown more urgent as temperatures inside the compromised tank have continued to rise, reaching about 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32.22 degrees Celsius) from 77 degrees (25 degrees Celsius) a day earlier.

Fire officials have warned that the worsening heat leaves two primary scenarios: the tank could rupture, leaking toxic chemicals, or explode and potentially rupture other chemical tanks nearby.

IANS