“Yesterday morning, it was 77 degrees when we backed out. It’s been averaging about a degree an hour increasing, so that’s the bad news,” he said in a short video posted on social media.
He said firefighters are seeking ways to cool the tank. Aerial footage filmed by local TV stations showed jets of water being sprayed at the tank, which has a capacity of 128,700 litres.
“The primary focus is the tanks,” Covey said during a press conference. “We’re continuing to keep them cool and monitor them.”
A blast zone map released by the Orange County Fire Authority showed areas within about 335m of the tank would sustain severe damage in the event of an explosion, and about the same distance from that radius could experience light damage.
Authorities initially described the tank exploding or rupturing as the only possible outcomes, but Covey said: “Letting this thing just fail and blow up is unacceptable”.
“Our goal is to find something and not allow that to happen, not to let it damage our community, not let it damage our environment.”
He added that residents had followed directions to evacuate and the only people at risk now were the emergency responders.
‘Diking and damming’
Orange County Health Officer Regina Chinsio-Kwong said the large exclusion zone around the tank was a necessary precaution.
“If it does explode and there is a vapour, you are all safe as long as you are out of the zone that was determined to be an evacuation zone,” she said.
No injuries had been reported and there was no immediate indication as to what caused the leak, which was initially reported on Thursday local time.
Responders were working to put containment barriers in place to prevent any spilled material from reaching storm drains or river channels that funnel into the ocean.
The US Environmental Protection Agency says methyl methacrylate is irritating to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes in humans.
“Respiratory effects have been reported in humans following acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) inhalation exposures,” a fact sheet on the agency’s website says.
“Neurological symptoms have also been reported in humans following acute exposure.”
– AFP