Aerospace facility tank spews toxic chemicals, prompts Garden Grove evacuations

A 34,000-gallon tank at the GKN Aerospace facility in Garden Grove released toxic methyl methacrylate into the air Thursday afternoon, forcing evacuations across multiple city blocks, ABC7 Los Angeles reported.

The spill, which involved a chemical used to make acrylic plastics, prompted a wide response from the Orange County Fire Authority and underscores the industrial hazard risks facing neighborhoods surrounding aerospace and manufacturing plants across Orange County.

The leaking substance, methyl methacrylate — an industrial liquid used in the production of acrylic plastics — escaped from a tank at the GKN Aerospace plant on Western Avenue, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. The cause of the release had not been determined as of Thursday afternoon.

Authorities established an evacuation zone stretching from Western Avenue to Beach Boulevard east to west, and from Garden Grove Boulevard to Orangewood Avenue north to south, the station reported. Buildings across the broad perimeter were cleared as a precaution.

A reunification center for displaced residents and workers was set up at Rancho Alamitos High School on Dale Street, according to the report.

No injuries were immediately reported. Evacuation orders were lifted after the situation was brought under control, ABC7 Los Angeles reported. The Orange County Fire Authority responded to the scene.

Officials had not publicly released details on the mechanism or cause of the tank failure at the Western Avenue plant as of Thursday afternoon, according to ABC7 Los Angeles.