US California Declares State Of Emergency In Orange County After Chemical Incident

LOS ANGELES, May 24 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- California Governor Gavin Newsom on Saturday declared a state of emergency in Orange County as emergency crews worked to cool down a tank containing volatile industrial chemicals at an aerospace manufacturing facility in Garden Grove, reported Xinhua.

"The safety of Orange County residents is the top priority," Newsom said in a statement, adding that California was deploying all available resources to support responders and affected communities.

The emergency order allows the state to mobilise additional resources and accelerate coordination among local, state and federal agencies responding to the crisis at the GKN Aerospace plant in Garden Grove, where a tank holding methyl methacrylate (MMA) has remained at an unstable temperature for days. MMA is a highly flammable industrial chemical used in acrylic plastics and aerospace manufacturing.

The situation has grown more urgent as temperatures inside the compromised tank have continued to rise, reaching about 32.22 degrees Celsius from 25 degrees Celsius a day earlier.

Fire officials have warned that the worsening heat leaves two primary scenarios: the tank could rupture, leaking toxic chemicals, or explode and potentially rupture other chemical tanks nearby.  

-- BERNAMA-XINHUA