A toxic chemical tank is on the verge of exploding in California. 40,000 have been told to run

Key Takeaways

• Authorities warn a leaking methyl methacrylate tank at a Garden Grove aerospace facility could either rupture catastrophically or trigger a toxic plume, leaving tens of thousands with no option but to flee.
• Emergency authorities issued sweeping evacuation orders for roughly 40,000 residents across multiple cities in Orange County, California, on Friday after a large chemical storage tank at an aerospace manufacturing facility began leaking a volatile and flammable substance, raising the spectre of a catastrophic explosion or a mass toxic release.
• What Is Happening at the Garden Grove Chemical Facility The incident is centred on a tank at a GKN Aerospace facility on the 12100 block of Western Avenue in Garden Grove, approximately 35 miles south-east of downtown Los Angeles.
• The tank holds between 6,000 and 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate -- a highly reactive chemical used in the manufacture of resins and plastics -- out of a total capacity of 34,000 gallons.
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