Milan, 23 May (LaPresse/AP) – Around 40,000 people are subject to evacuation orders and schools have been closed in southern California due to a leak of a hazardous chemical used in the production of plastic components, methyl methacrylate. According to the authorities, the substance began leaking from a storage tank. The tank overheated on Thursday at a plastics plant for the aerospace industry in Garden Grove, where evacuations were initially ordered, and began releasing vapours into the air. On Friday, the authorities extended the evacuation orders to parts of Cypress, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park and Westminster as they had been unable to stop the leak overnight. The tank contained between 22,700 and 26,500 litres of the chemical at the GKN Aerospace plant, which manufactures components for commercial and military aircraft. According to Craig Covey, division chief of the Orange County Fire Department, the tank could fail and rupture, releasing the chemical onto the ground. For this reason, local authorities are rushing to find a way to prevent an explosion. Garden Grove is located 61 kilometres south of downtown Los Angeles and less than a mile from the two Disneyland theme parks, which were not subject to evacuation orders on Friday.
Chemical leak from tank prompts evacuation order for 40,000 in California
Milan, 23 May (LaPresse/AP) – Around 40,000 people are subject to evacuation orders and schools have been closed in southern California due to a leak of a hazardous chemical used in the production of plastic components, methyl methacrylate. According to the authorities, the substance began leaking from a storage tank. The tank overheated on Thursday at a plastics plant for the aerospace industry in Garden Grove, where evacuations were initially ordered, and began releasing vapours into the air. On Friday, the authorities extended the evacuation orders to parts of Cypress, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park and Westminster as they had been unable to stop the leak overnight. The tank contained between 22,700 and 26,500 litres of the chemical at the GKN Aerospace plant, which manufactures components for commercial and military aircraft. According to Craig Covey, division chief of the Orange County Fire Department, the tank could fail and rupture, releasing the chemical onto the ground. For this reason, local authorities are rushing to find a way to prevent an explosion. Garden Grove is located 61 kilometres south of downtown Los Angeles and less than a mile from the two Disneyland theme parks, which were not subject to evacuation orders on Friday.
