Orange County demands $4 million from company at center of Garden Grove chemical crisis
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Set us as preferred Orange County is demanding that GKN Aerospace, the company whose Garden Grove facility sparked a chemical crisis that prompted wide evacuations across six cities, pay more than $4 million to cover costs stemming from the emergency.The multimillion-dollar bill is meant to reimburse the county for costs incurred while dealing with the incident, which forced about 50,000 residents to flee as firefighters warned that a 7,000-gallon volatile chemical tank was at risk of exploding or causing a major spill.In a letter sent Friday demanding payment, county attorneys called the May 21 incident a “catastrophic failure” of the company’s chemical storage tank cooling system.“This incident was clearly not an unforeseeable accident as GKN has a well-documented history of regulatory violations at the site dating back over a decade,” states the letter, which was obtained by The Times.
California In the aftermath of a six-day chemical crisis that displaced tens of thousands of Orange County residents, elected leaders want answers from GKN Aerospace.The company, according to county attorneys, faced California Division of Occupational Safety and Health citations and more than $900,000 in fines from the South Coast Air Quality Management District for past offenses.GKN Aerospace officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.In May, a pressurized tank of methyl methacrylate began to fail at the company’s facility in Garden Grove.
The chemical inside the tank continued to dangerously heat, and the cooling system at the facility was unable to reduce the temperature.A crack was found in the tank, and fire officials said it was at risk of either leaking or exploding as internal pressure continued to build.
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