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Posted on 05/24/2026 7:27:14 PM PDT by Red Badger
(The Epoch Times)—The head of the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said Sunday that a chemical storage tank in Southern California that has forced officials to declare an emergency and prompted evacuation orders for tens of thousands residents is likely to fail.
Initially, officials said that 40,000 people were ordered to evacuate on Friday, namely in the Orange County city of Garden Grove. That number had risen to 50,000 by Sunday.
Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the EPA, told CNN’s “State of the Union” program on Sunday that the “most likely scenario” is a “low-volume release” of the tank, where officials will be able to “monitor, neutralize, and contain the threat.”
“The Orange County Fire Authority is working to keep the temperature of the tank down. That is very important,” he said on CNN, referring to the fire department in the Southern California county. He said keeping the temperature under 85 degrees F is key.
But he warned: “We’re being told that the tank will fail, but there are different scenarios as to what that means, the most catastrophic scenario being an explosion that results in other tanks to explode. That’s the reason why you see such a big evacuation that’s been done in the surrounding areas.”
“You have all levels of government, local, state, federal, working together. EPA has personnel on the ground, air monitors deployed in the local community,” Zeldin also said. “We have been involved in the modeling of different scenarios.”
Drones were monitoring temperatures at 10-minute intervals to watch for any spikes and planning was underway to ensure a possible leak could quickly be prevented from spreading into waterways or the ocean, Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Craig Covey said in a video released online.
“Sitting back and allowing these tanks to fail is unacceptable,” Covey said, adding there was no guarantee tanks will not breach and leak. “Our goal is to protect your homes—no damage to them—and protect the environment.”
As of Sunday morning, Zeldin said: “This is an emergency response. This isn’t yet an environmental response, and the scale of that environmental response will be determined based off of what happens when that tank fails.”
The damaged tank is located at GKN Aerospace, which makes parts for commercial and military aircraft. It holds 6,000 to 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate, known as MMA, used to make plastic parts. Since Friday, officials have said the tank could rupture, spilling the chemical, or explode and damage other tanks in the area.
Exposure to methyl methacrylate can cause serious respiratory problems, including lung irritation, health officials said. Higher-level exposure can cause fluid to increase in the lungs, with severe shortness of breath, dizziness, irritability, and problems with concentration and memory.
In some cases, exposure can cause damage to the nervous system including numbness, a pins and needles feeling, and weakness in the feet or hands, officials say.
MMA is also highly flammable, and has been deemed a fire and explosion hazard, authorities also say. Health officials also said the chemical has a distinct odor, with a sharp and fruity smell.
In a statement posted on its website, GKN Aerospace officials said on Saturday that they “sincerely apologize” to residents over the issue and are “working tirelessly” to try and resolve the problem.
Garden Grove, which is home to 172,000 residents, is located approximately 30 miles south of Los Angeles. The evacuation zone affected neighborhoods in and around the city, and extends to nearby areas, including parts of Anaheim, Cypress, Stanton, Buena Park, and Westminster.
The Associated Press and Kimberly Hayek contributed to this report.
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Temp is now above 100
Why can’t they tap it and siphon into tankers? That would release the pressure
Yeh...That helps....Dear Residents...We’re sorry for the inconvenience.
Is the Mayor in Africa again?
It is extremely flammable..................
Better living through Chemistry?
At least this didn’t happen during the wildfire season
Brave AI:
A vapor pressure of 29 mm Hg at 20°C is considered high volatility for a flammable liquid like methyl methacrylate, representing a significant safety hazard.
According to hazardous materials guidelines, chemicals with a vapor pressure above 40 mm Hg are typically classified as high inhalation hazards, but 29 mm Hg is still substantial enough to create dangerous conditions:
Inhalation Risk: While below the strict 40 mm Hg threshold for “high” concern, this pressure indicates the liquid evaporates rapidly at ambient temperatures, creating a harmful contamination of the air quickly. The ICSC notes that a harmful air contamination can be reached “rather quickly on evaporation” at 20°C.
Fire and Explosion Hazard: The high vapor pressure contributes to the formation of explosive vapor/air mixtures. Methyl methacrylate has a wide explosive range (1.7% to 12.5% in air), and its vapors are 3.45 times heavier than air, allowing them to hug the ground, travel to ignition sources, and flash back.
Comparison: For context, water has a vapor pressure of ~20 mm Hg at 20°C. Methyl methacrylate’s higher pressure means it turns to gas faster than water, increasing the immediate risk of fire and inhalation exposure compared to less volatile liquids.
Therefore, while not in the “extreme” volatility category (>40 mm Hg), a vapor pressure of 29 mm Hg is bad for safety, requiring strict ventilation, explosion-proof equipment, and respiratory protection due to the rapid accumulation of flammable and toxic vapors.
Plus, Methyl methacrylate has a density of 0.93 gm/cm^3, so it even less dense than water. The temperature of the tank is up to 100° which increases the volatility, so the second it is exposed to air it may explode. And since it is heavier than air, the explosion and fire would spread out horizontally in all directions.............
Wrong city. Wrong county, even.
INCLUDING DISNEYLAND?
It appears to me that the chemical is just slowly leaking out of the tank. Not good for the environment and those close by but certainly better than an explosion. Isn’t less chemical in the tank a good thing? Does that mean less pressure?
Or, is the problem instead the temperature of the chemical in the tank and not the amount of it?
I’ve been in situations like this, surrounded by people too afraid to move while the eventually inevitable is catastrophic. It’s been fun to thought experiment what I’d do on this one.
Why can’t they tap it and siphon into tankers? That would release the pressure
As someone asked last night “Who is going to bell the cat?”
Any volunteers?
One would have to have some monster blowers producing sufficient turbulence to stir up and dilute the leakage to below the combustion point. With all the water they’re hosing onto it the likelihood of a flash close to the tank is low.
Message to everyone in California:
GET THE HE!! OUT OF THERE!!!!!!
I don’t know where Disneyland is from there..............
MMA is nasty stuff. I’ve worked with it and it is volatile with a heavy pungent odor.
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