Orange County DA launches probe into toxic chemical leak in California: "We are not getting satisfactory answers"

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer on Saturday announced that his office had launched an investigation into the Garden Grove-based GKN Aerospace, where a failed storage tank leaking a toxic chemical forced 50,000 people to evacuate from their homes.

"For goodness' sake, they're in the middle of a commercial area, residential, it's an urban population. ... It's irresponsible, it's horrific, and I'm angry about it," Spitzer said while speaking with CBS LA. "I'm gonna channel my anger to continue to protect the public. ... Tonight, we are not getting satisfactory answers. But in the future, I can assure you we will."

The incident was first reported at around 3:40 p.m. on Thursday at GKN Aerospace, which is located in the 12000 block of Western Avenue. Orange County Fire Authority officials say that the tank storing methyl methacrylate, a toxic and highly flammable epoxy used to produce plastic for aircraft canopies, was failing and that the temperature had started to rise. Officials said that their two options for the situation were an explosion or a rupture, which would then leak thousands of gallons of the substance. 

Despite believing that they were gaining control of the situation on Friday, by using a constant stream of water on the exterior of the tank to cool the contents, OCFA officials on Saturday instead noted that the interior had actually been increasing in temperature by approximately one degree an hour. 

With what Spitzer called a "volatile situation" on their hands, he wanted to make sure that his team was preserving the evidence in the event that it eventually ended up in litigation. The DA's Office began looking into the incident on Friday, with investigators surveying the area via drones. While the incident continued to develop, his office shared a news release asking anyone who knows more about operations at GKN Aerospace to come forward with information. 

"I am gonna be right there, front and center, making sure that this company is held accountable," Spitzer said. "I'm the prosecutor for Orange County, and I am just absolutely horrified and incredibly upset. You have 50,000 people who have been displaced. They don't know if their homes are gonna be leveled. They don't know the situation they're going to be confronted."

He referenced the series of black pipes that can be seen surrounding several tanks, which are grouped on the aerospace company's Garden Grove campus. While only one tank appears to be failing, if there is an explosion, officials say the other tanks that also contain fuel or chemicals will explode as well. 

"I am scratching my head, asking a question I think everybody is asking. How in the world could this entity ... a multi-million dollar company that's responsible for this kind of manufacturing using volatile chemicals, not have any redundancy or backup systems for purposes of cooling?" Spitzer said. 

Officials say that the cooling system for the three tanks was compromised for the tank containing methyl methacrylate. Despite efforts to stabilize the temperature, authorities have been unable to do so. They said that the "happy place" for the substance is approximately 50 degrees, but as of Saturday, the internal temperature was hovering around 90 degrees, according to OCFA.

"We will be looking and conducting a full investigation to determine whether or not there's been incidents in the past, and whether or not this particular company has been derelict in its duties to protect the public," Spitzer said.

Along with requesting people from the public to come forward with any information that they have on GKN Aerospace, Spitzer specifically requested whistleblowers working with the company to "tell us what they know."

"I am indicating to employees who work at GKN: If you want to come forward and you want to be interviewed and you want to tell us what you know, now is the time," Spitzer said. "When we launch an investigation and we get to the bottom of what happened and why the system failed, if you haven't come forward, you're not gonna be treated the same as if you come forward early and you tell us what you know."

Spitzer said that they're still looking into whether GKN Aerospace has been involved in any other incidents in the past. 

"This company failed, and so I'm angry," Spitzer said. "I will be coordinating with other law enforcement agencies, other prosecutorial agencies, and we will get to the bottom of why this system failed and why there's no redundancy built in when a system fails."

Anyone with more information on the circumstances that led to the incident was asked to either call the Orange County District Attorney Anonymous Tip Hotline at 714-347-8714 or fill out an anonymous online form on the Orange County District Attorney's website.