GARDEN GROVE (CNS) – Federal authorities Wednesday served a search warrant at a Garden Grove aerospace contracting company where a chemical storage tank emergency prompted widespread evacuations.
The warrant was served Wednesday morning at GKN Aerospace at 12122 Western Ave. by the FBI and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to a spokesman with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
According to a search warrant affidavit, investigators were looking to seize any evidence of possible violations of federal requirements to prevent the “accidental release of extremely hazardous substance into the ambient air.”
The warrant calls for the seizure of any documents or records referencing employees involved with the storage and handling of the toxic chemical at the facility, and any records pertaining specifically to the chemical methyl methacrylate, or MMA.
Officials are continuing to monitor the air around the plant to make sure it adheres to public safety measures.
Thousands of residents in Garden Grove and Stanton had to leave their homes for days during the Memorial Day Weekend as authorities worked to neutralize the toxic chemical kept inside a storage tank that had become overheated, amid fears it would lead to an explosion.
Ultimately a crack in the damaged tank wound up relieving pressure inside, negating the risk of explosion.
Hundreds of residents packed Garden Grove City Council meeting Tuesday night, as GKN officials spoke to the council about the emergency and its efforts to provide relief to residents.
GKN Aerospace senior vice president Steve Carlin apologized to the community on behalf of the company.
“On behalf of GKN and the Garden Grove plant I want to say I’m sorry this event… occurred,” he said. “I understand and realize sitting here tonight how unsettling it is to the greater community, and it’s particularly unsettling to us at GKN because of the long history we’ve had with Garden Grove and how connected we are to the community.”
He said the plant employs 500 workers, most of whom reside in Garden Grove and the surrounding area, he said.
Carlin said the Garden Grove plant is “known throughout the world” for its expertise in producing windows for the aerospace industry.
“It is literally the number one producer of aerospace transparencies … basically windows,” Carlin said. “We make the most complex windows out there. … And they don’t say we’re going to GKN Aerospace or GKN Transparencies for windows … no matter where in the world. … They say we’re going to Garden Grove. … That is literally how that plant is known around the world.”
Carlin added that the company’s executives are “very much aware that we have broken a trust in the last couple of weeks and we have a long way to go to earn back that trust. … But we will do whatever we can to earn back that trust.”
GKN Aerospace announced recently it had donated $3 million to the United Way’s OC Community Resilience Fund to assist residents who were impacted by the evacuations. The company also committed another $1 million for “broader community initiatives” across the county.
GKN previously donated $1 million to the Red Cross when the evacuations were still in effect. Councilwoman Ariana Arestegui said previously the $3 million the company pledged was for a “mutual aid fund… for folks having a really hard time immediately. … While this $3 million will help some folks… it is not a refund or reimbursement.”
Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Doug Chaffee said he was “disappointed” the company did not establish a more formal claims procedure for residents to access.
“I feel they’re remiss in not doing that because now they’re facing the litigation, which is more expensive,” Chaffee said. “They could get all of the minor claims out of the way.”
He called the $3 million a “drop in the bucket.”
Authorities last week had planned to begin the process of removing chemicals from storage tanks at GKN, but the effort had to be postponed “due to unavailable resources.”
Workers were planning to remove the MMA from two tanks next to the one that was damaged at GKN Aerospace.
Orange County Health Care Agency spokeswoman Salma Elshakre said Thursday the operation was stalled due to a delay in delivery of sealed trucks needed for the job. When the operation occurs, workers will pump the MMA out of two storage tanks and into the sealed trucks, which will take the chemicals away for disposal. Officials said the chemical has a “distinctive fruity or plastic-like odor” that nearby residents might smell, but most people may not even notice.
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