S.California officials trying to prevent explosion or leak from damaged chemical tank

LOS ANGELES, May 25, (AP): A damaged chemical tank in Southern California cracked over the weekend, which authorities were hopeful would relieve pressure and reduce the risk of an explosion. Some 50,000 residents in Garden Grove, a city of roughly 170,000 about 40 miles (60 kilometers) south of downtown Los Angeles, have been evacuated and are waiting for a resolution.

The tank overheated Thursday and began venting vapors, leaving local and state officials scrambling to evade a worst possible scenario at the aerospace company site. No injuries have been reported. Fire officials planned to send in a team overnight to determine if the pressure has been relieved, which would reduce the worst-case scenario of an explosion, Orange County Fire Authority interim chief TJ McGovern said in a video posted late Sunday to the agency's X account.

Atmospheric modeling showed an active leak from the tank as of Sunday night, McGovern said. Firefighters have repeatedly sprayed the tank with water in an attempt to cool the chemical inside, methyl methacrylate, which is used to make plastic parts. The tank's interior reached 100 degrees (37.7 Celsius) Sunday, an increase of 10 degrees Fahrenheit (5.5 Celsius) since Saturday, according to Democratic state Sen. Tom Umberg.

Fire officials over the weekend discovered the tank had cracked, lowering the potential for a devastating blast. Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Saturday and said he asked President Donald Trump to issue an emergency declaration to bolster federal support for local and state officials. The tank at GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, which makes parts for commercial and military aircraft, holds 6,000 to 7,000 gallons (22,700 to 26,500 liters) of methyl methacrylate used to make plastic parts.

Monitoring tests found air pollution around the evacuation zone was within normal limits and specialized equipment is being used to ensure gas is not released, state and federal environmental officials said Saturday. The first goal of firefighters is to cool off the chemical inside the tank to prevent a leak or explosion. Drones were monitoring temperatures at 10-minute intervals to watch for any spikes.