A federal search warrant was served Wednesday morning at the Garden Grove aerospace facility where a compromised tank carrying a toxic chemical forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents, Eyewitness News has learned.
It’s part of an investigation looking into possible violations at the plant that could have played a role in the hazmat incident at the GKN Aerospace facility last month.
“When there is a failure in the tanks, and it caused a massive evacuation, impacting 50,000 residents, we have an obligation to figure out whether any crimes were committed,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, who was on site as federal agents moved in Wednesday. “We want to know exactly what happened.”
The search comes three weeks after a tank carrying 6,500 gallons of the highly toxic chemical methyl methacrylate (MMA) became unstable, causing the tank to heat up uncontrollably. For a few days, officials said the tank would either explode or spill out, and either outcome was inevitable. Eventually, the tank cracked, allowing the pressure to release and eliminating the threat of a BLEVE, which stands for Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion…