An industrial tank in Southern California containing about 7,000 gallons of a highly flammable toxic chemical appears to have cracked, officials reported on Sunday. The development was interpreted as a possible sign that a catastrophic explosion or rupture might yet be averted as tens of thousands of evacuees waited to return home.
TJ McGovern, the interim fire chief of the Orange County Fire Authority, said in an update that firefighters conducted a “successful operation” on Saturday night to inspect the tank at a plant in Garden Grove that belongs to U.K.-based GKN Aerospace, which manufactures aircraft components.
The container became increasingly pressurized on Thursday, heating the chemicals inside and releasing gas that could trigger an explosion. Firefighters responded, dousing the tank with copious amounts of water in an attempt to cool it. But GKN Aerospace’s team was unable to inject a neutralizing agent to reduce the chemical’s instability because of several failed valves.
“No one has ever had this situation before because the chemical is so volatile,” Chief McGovern said. He called the situation “unprecedented.”
The chemical inside the tank, methyl methacrylate, is used in the manufacture of resins and acrylic plastics, most notably plexiglass.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, exposure to methyl methacrylate can irritate the eyes and skin and make it difficult to breathe, among other symptoms. Birth defects have appeared in exposed animals.
On Saturday, local fire officials said the temperature inside the tank had risen more than 20 degrees and was still rising. By Sunday, it had reached at least 100 degrees.
There is fear of a “thermal runaway,” which could further generate heat, build pressure and cause a blast, said Elias Picazo, an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Southern California.
Alternatively, he said, a tank failure — in which the tank ruptures but does not necessarily explode — could lead to a controlled leak that could then be neutralized.
“I think the temperature within the tank has been steadily increasing and that’s indicative that the reaction is moving forward,” he said.
It is possible, officials said on Saturday, that the increase in temperature is occurring because the liquid inside the tank is solidifying. If so, and if the tank holds, that could make a rupture less likely.
A specialized team of officials from the fire departments in Los Angeles, San Bernardino County, Orange County and Long Beach were working on alternative solutions to prevent the tank from breaching, Chief McGovern said on Sunday.
In a video posted to social media on Sunday, he said the team had found a potential crack in the tank, which might relieve some of the internal pressure.
“With this new information, it could change our trajectory and our strategy,” he said.
Still, the fire authority is “definitely not ruling out the possibility of the tank erupting,” Capt. Wayhowe Huang said in a phone interview.
Senator Thomas J. Umberg, a state legislator who represents the area, said that “several courageous firefighters” had discovered the small crack last night at about 8:30 p.m., after approaching the tank to adjust the water being sprayed on it.
The firefighters, he said, got close enough to the tanks to see that the internal temperature had hit at least 100 degrees, the maximum level that the gauges would register.
But no liquid was leaking from the crack, he said, which emergency responders interpreted as “a slight bit of good news.”
Mr. Picazo had said that the potential of the chemical solidifying would be an “ideal” but “unpredictable” outcome. “Then you have a lot of time to figure out what the best approach would be to open the tank and quench the remaining active material,” he said.
The fire authority said in another post that areas outside of the evacuation zone were considered “completely safe” and that daily activities could continue as normal.
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California declared a state of emergency in Orange County on Saturday. More than 40,000 residents in the surrounding areas are under evacuation orders, and officials have become increasingly concerned that some may be prematurely attempting to return home.
“We have a lot of citizens displaced and, when it’s safe to do, one of the things we want to do is to get them back in their homes,” Chief McGovern said in a phone interview.
Erika Ocana, who lives about a five-minute walk from the plant, evacuated on Friday with her four children, three dogs and a cat.
“I’m just thinking, like, what about the ones that are really close to it, what about the houses, what’s going to happen?” she said.
In a video posted to Facebook, Dr. Jason Low of the South Coast Air Quality Management District detailed the air measurements being taken in the community near the facility.
Dr. Low said officials were “happy to report that levels are completely normal in our measurements.”
That agency has worked with the E.P.A. to deploy 24 monitors to continue the air measurements.