Unstable Toxic Chemical Tank Risks Explosion in LA, Thousands Evacuated

A highly unstable chemical tank full of a toxic compound is on the verge of exploding, forcing tens of thousands of evacuations across southern Los Angeles.

The chemical tank is located at a warehouse belonging to GKN Aerospace – an aircraft parts manufacturer based in the United Kingdom – in Garden Grove, a suburb on the southern side the Greater Los Angeles area.

On Thursday, officials confirmed that the tank was overheating, leading to an increasing risk of a catastrophic explosion. Within the cylinder is 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate, a volatile, highly flammable compound used in the production of acrylic plastics, resins, and surface coatings. It is also highly toxic to both humans and the surrounding environment, leading to severe irritation of the lungs, damage to other organs, and possible reproductive problems and birth defects in pregnant women.

GKN Aerospace possesses a neutralizing agent to decrease the volatility of the substance, which can be used in case of emergencies, but the company was unable to inject the agent due to clogged entrance pipes. This left the tank completely blocked off, leaving the chemical inside to vaporize.

Firefighters and other officials tried desperately to spray cold water on the tank in an attempt to cool it down, but the temperature has continued to rise, increasing the pressure inside. For an undisclosed reason, the engineers are also unable to siphon the chemical out of the tank, likely due to the fact that the pressure is already too high to do so.

More than 50,000 residents across Garden Grove, Anaheim, Stanton, Cypress, Westminster, and Buena Park have been evacuated to shelters and centers across southern Los Angeles in case of an explosion. Uber is offering free rides to shelters for evacuees, and U-Haul has announced that they will be offering one month of free self-storage for those affected by the crisis. A state of emergency has also been declared by California Governor Gavin Newsom, allowing the state to allocate more resources and funds to handling the situation.

Yesterday, officials found that the bulging tank had cracked, but it is unclear whether the crack has allowed some of the pressure within to escape. They have stated that the crack could decrease the chances of the tank exploding, but a blast is still possible due to the interior's soaring temperature– as of Sunday, it had reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which was the maximum level on the thermometer.

As of right now, the best-case scenario would be for the liquid inside to solidify through a separate chemical process, allowing for it to avoid spilling out or combusting. Nevertheless, there is no way for officials to know what is happening inside of the tank, as there are no cameras and all access points are jammed.

Others say that the tank could crack completely, allowing the remaining liquid to pour out and into the surrounding area. Police and firefighters have set up walls of sandbags to keep the chemical inside the containment area, limiting its impact to a small toxic cloud.

Experts say that the worst-case scenario could be much, much worse. An incendiary rupture would cause a devastating blast that could launch a massive fireball into the sky, landing somewhere within several square miles of the site. Meanwhile, a nearby 15,000 gallon tank within the same complex could also explode if exposed to high temperatures, meaning that an initial blast could spark a second, even larger one. The explosion would also release a toxic chemical cloud that could be swept hundreds of miles by winds, with some estimates claiming that the hazardous fumes could waft as far as Arizona.

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Image credit to AP