Federal agents served a search warrant Wednesday at GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems in Garden Grove, the Orange County plant where an overheating chemical tank last month forced some 50,000 residents to evacuate under threat of a catastrophic explosion.
The warrant, signed by a federal judge last week, authorizes the seizure of documents and records related to the 'storage, use, or disposal' of methyl methacrylate — the highly flammable liquid inside the affected tank — along with samples from any container suspected of holding the chemical and records on 'any cooling equipment or other equipment used to control or regulate the temperature' of it. The FBI confirmed its agents were at the site Wednesday morning as part of an investigation into whether federal laws were violated.
The tank held 6,000 to 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate, used in making plastics and coatings such as Plexiglas. It overheated after a valve failed on the cooling system meant to keep it at 50 degrees Fahrenheit, triggering a days-long emergency response before officials stabilized the contents and lifted the last evacuation orders on May 26. Exposure to the chemical can cause serious respiratory, neurological, skin and eye problems, according to the EPA.
The federal search is not the only legal front. The Orange County District Attorney's office has opened a separate criminal investigation and sent GKN a preservation letter directing it not to modify or destroy evidence, spokesperson Kimberly Edds said. About a dozen evacuated residents and businesses have filed federal lawsuits against the company.
GKN, which makes cockpit windows, canopies and windshields at the plant of more than 500 employees, said it is cooperating. At a community meeting Tuesday evening, site leader Steve Carlin apologized: 'I'm sorry that this event and this incident occurred. I understand... what a disruptive event it was and how unsettling it is to the greater community.'
The neutralized chemical, notably, is still in the tank. The Orange County Health Care Agency, which is leading cleanup, had planned to pump it into sealed trucks for disposal last week but postponed the removal, citing unavailable resources, and says it will give the community advance notice of a new date. City leaders and residents have urged GKN to move its methyl methacrylate storage away from Garden Grove entirely.