In the aftermath of a six-day chemical crisis that displaced tens of thousands of Orange County residents, elected leaders are calling for accountability from the company at the center of the chaos — GKN Aerospace.
On Wednesday, members of the Orange County Board of Supervisors asked the company to provide compensation to those who were evacuated when an overheating tank of chemicals at its Garden Grove facility was at risk of causing a massive explosion.
On Thursday, U.S. Reps. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) and Derek Tran (D-Orange) sent a letter to GKN Chief Executive Peter Dilnot demanding answers on what led to the “catastrophic threat” to the community and what the company was doing in response.
“We must now turn to the work of recovery and accountability to ensure that this can never happen again,” said Tran, whose district includes Garden Grove, in a Thursday statement. “GKN leadership must answer directly to the community for the chaos and disruption this crisis has caused.”
GKN Senior Vice President Steve Carlin, who oversees the Garden Grove site, said in a Wednesday evening statement that the company is “committed to understanding what occurred and identifying ways we can support those affected” and sorry for the “uncertainty and disruption this situation has caused.”
The statement did not provide details on what led to the crisis or specific examples of how the company intended to support the community going forward. Representatives for the company have declined multiple requests for interviews from The Times, referring questions to statements issued on their website.
O.C. Fire Authority Interim Chief TJ McGovern has said the crisis was caused by the failure of equipment designed to cool the company’s tanks of methyl methacrylate, a highly reactive chemical that can be used to make items such as Plexiglass.
“What occurred was the cooling mechanisms failed, for what reason we don’t know, but they failed and the temperature [inside the tank] was increasing,” McGovern said at Wednesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.
He said the increasing temperature was a “recipe for a BLEVE,” or boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion. The catastrophic explosion occurs when a pressurized vessel containing a liquid ruptures. Fortunately, as the temperature rose, the tank cracked, which relieved some pressure, he said.
This allowed crews to use water hoses to continue cooling the chemical as it solidified and stabilized, ultimately enabling residents to return home as evacuation orders were phased out on Monday and Tuesday.
Although a potential crisis was averted, fears about the company’s management of the industrial facility remain.
“GKN Aerospace exposed Orange County and Garden Grove to the risk of a catastrophic chemical explosion,” Rep. Garcia said in a Thursday statement. “Thousands of families have been forced to evacuate and people are living in fear.
“We need answers on what happened, why it happened, how they will prevent this from happening again.”
Garcia and Tran have asked GKN to provide a list of documents and information by June 10. This includes documents related to facility inspections, compliance history, maintenance logs, staffing levels and emergency protocols.
They are also asking for a detailed description of events that brought the tank to the brink of a chemical explosion as well as the steps the company will take to prevent the risk of a future incident and to ensure surrounding communities are informed of the risks posed by the facility.
Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer has opened a criminal investigation into the incident and demanded the company retain all relevant records. More than half a dozen lawsuits have been filed against the company in Orange County Superior Court, and multiple law firms have vowed to file class-action lawsuits on behalf of the 50,000 residents who were evacuated.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors is working with the California Office of Emergency Services to file requests for FEMA reimbursement for the costs local, county and state agencies incurred responding to the crisis. However, supervisors said that the responsibility for compensating affected residents likely rests with GKN.
“We encourage them to set up a claims process and acknowledge responsibility,” said board Chair Doug Chaffee during Wednesday’s meeting. “We’re looking for that to happen, so the public can be reimbursed.”
He said reimbursement should be made available for businesses that had to shut down because they were in an evacuation zone, people who were unable to go to work and lost income during the crisis and expenses residents incurred, such as hotel stays.
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