A major aerospace company responsible for a chemical leak in Garden Grove in May will pay up to $100 million to residents forced to evacuate during the emergency, under an agreement the company reached with the Orange County district attorney.
More than 50,000 residents had to evacuate when a pressurized chemical tank owned by GKN Aerospace started to heat dangerously on May 21. The company’s cooling system failed to bring the temperatures down, and fire officials warned the tank could explode or cause a major spill. The tank contained about 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate, a toxic chemical used to make plastics.
The company has decommissioned the tank involved in the incident, it said.
About 13,000 to 17,000 households in the neighborhood around the GKN Aerospace facility had to evacuate over five days, the district attorney’s office said. Under the claim program announced Monday, residents and businesses are to be reimbursed for expenses such as hotel stays, loss of use, meals, transportation and loss of wages.
“The community has an absolute expectation that businesses operating within their neighborhoods operate safely and lawfully,” Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer said in a statement. “I am pleased that GKN has been and continues to be responsive to any and all requests throughout this investigation.”
The company said in a statement that it expects people to be able to start submitting claims this fall, with payments for eligible claims to follow “swiftly thereafter.” The firm did not specify how people will be asked to apply, but the program will be administered by an independent third party unaffiliated with the company, the district attorney’s office said. GKN said in its statement that it would provide further details in coming weeks.
GKN Aerospace, based in the United Kingdom, is a major international manufacturer of airplane parts, with plants in 12 countries. The plant in Garden Grove manufactures the canopy for the F-35 fighter jet.
Work at the plant has been put on hold but could resume as soon as Sept. 28, according to the district attorney’s statement, “contingent upon full compliance with required safety standards, ongoing monitoring protocols, any regulatory obligations and a court-approved safety plan.”
In addition to the $100-million settlement, GKN contributed an additional $3 million to a fund intended to help those affected by the leak. That fund already reached the maximum number of applicants, according to the Orange County United Way.
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