ICYMI: Representative Tran on the Garden Grove Hazmat Crisis
Garden Grove, CA – In case you missed it, U.S. Representative Derek Tran (CA-45) responded to a hazmat crisis, known as “The Western Incident,” over Memorial Day Weekend after local authorities confirmed a toxic chemical leak at an aerospace facility in Garden Grove.
COVERAGE OF REP. TRAN’S EFFORTS TO ADDRESS THE WESTERN INCIDENT:
- WATCH: Representative Tran on NBC 4 Bay Area
- WATCH: Representative Tran on NBC 4 LA
- WATCH: Representative Tran on Good Nite LA
- WATCH: Representative Tran on Spectrum News 1
- WATCH: Representative Tran on NBC 4 LA
- WATCH: Representative Tran on CNN
- LA Times: What we know about GKN Aerospace, the firm at center of O.C. chemical leak
- CNN: Officials race to cool down tank containing toxic chemical as 50,000 residents remain under evacuation in California
- CBS: California Gov. Newsom declares state of emergency for Orange County chemical leak as DA launches probe into its cause
- LA Times: Potential crack found on Garden Grove chemical tank, reducing explosion risk
- New York Times: Evacuation Orders Lifted as Southern California Chemical Tank Cools
On Thursday, May 21, the Orange County Fire Authority reported a leak of methyl methacrylate, a volatile and flammable chemical, from a 34,000 gallon storage tank at the GKN Aerospace plant in Garden Grove. The risk of a toxic leak or catastrophic explosion prompted over 50,000 evacuations across Garden Grove, Westminster, Buena Park, Cypress, Anaheim, and Stanton.
At Representative Tran’s urging in partnership with Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on May 23, and, on May 25, President Trump signed the request for a Federal Disaster Declaration submitted by the State of California.
On Tuesday, May 26, Tran welcomed affected families from across Orange County to a community meeting to answer questions about the disaster and provide resources for residents to address the displacement and financial burden they endured because of the Western Incident. Tran invited GKN Aerospace’s leadership to answer directly to impacted residents at the community meeting; the company did not send a representative.
Shortly following the community meeting, Orange County Fire Authority crews announced that the threat to public health and safety at the GKN plant was neutralized and all evacuation orders would be lifted. There remains an exclusion zone around the facility to allow hazmat teams to continue monitoring the tanks out of an abundance of caution.
“I am grateful for the tireless work of the OC Fire Authority, local police, and emergency response professionals to mitigate this crisis and keep our community safe. I am also grateful for Governor Gavin Newsom’s leadership during this crisis,” said Representative Derek Tran. “While the immediate danger to public health and safety has been lifted, residents are still left to pick up the pieces of the chaos and disruption caused by the hazmat incident in Garden Grove. Our community is rightfully angry, and I will continue working around the clock to demand accountability from all responsible actors.”
Now that the immediate threat has cleared, Representative Tran will continue monitoring all possible accountability measures to ensure that an incident like this never happens again.
###
Congressman Derek Tran represents California’s 45th Congressional District. Serving his first term in Congress, Congressman Tran is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and House Small Business Committee, where he is Ranking Member of the Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations Subcommittee. Congressman Tran is the son of Vietnamese refugees, a Veteran, and fought for consumers as an attorney before entering Congress.