California officials have lifted the final remaining evacuation orders in Orange County after securing a chemical tank leak, allowing Garden Grove residents to return to their homes after a week of nerves over the possibility of a spill or explosion.
About 50,000 Orange County residents were initially evacuated last week when the pressurized tank at an aerospace facility began overheating and leaking a toxic chemical, pushing emergency responders to clear the area to stabilize the leak. After progress in the emergency response over the weekend, officials condensed the evacuation zone and allowed about 30,000 people to return home on Monday. On Tuesday evening, officials allowed all residents to return.
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The Orange County Fire Authority said Tuesday evening that there was no longer a chemical leak, no threats of explosion or fire, and no more risk to the public. The fire authority said the situation update was confirmed by fire and county health authorities, law enforcement, and Environmental Protection Agency officials.
“Thursday, this incident started with two options: a major explosion … or a catastrophic leak,” Orange County Fire Authority interim chief TJ McGovern said. “We all found that unacceptable, and we knew we had to come up with a plan. After an extensive operation, we’re happy to report that all evacuation orders have been lifted, and residents have started to return home.”
Despite a grim outlook Thursday and Friday, the situation started to turn around at the GKN Aerospace facility over the weekend, when authorities found a crack in the tank that helped alleviate pressure in the vessel.
After authorities identified the crack, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the “most likely scenario is one of a low-volume release, where the local authorities are going to be able to monitor, neutralize, and contain the threat.” On Monday, McGovern said the threat of an explosion had been eliminated.
The tank holds an estimated 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate, which is used to make plastics. It’s toxic to humans through direct skin contact, inhalation, or contaminated drinking water.
CHEMICAL TANK IMPLOSION LEAVES ONE DEAD, NINE MISSING IN WASHINGTON PAPER MILL
On Tuesday morning, a chemical tank in Washington state met a different fate than the one south of Los Angeles.
The tank at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co.’s paper mill facility in Longview, Washington, exploded on Tuesday, killing one person and leaving nine missing.
