Nearly three months after an overheating tank of methyl methacrylate prompted some 50,000 residents to be evacuated from their West Garden Grove homes, city officials this week said they don\u2019t expect the chemical to be stored again at the GKN Aerospace facility \u201cbefore at least the first quarter of next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no MMA production going on in that facility now and quite frankly, I\u2019d be surprised if any MMA production starts before sometime next year,\u201d Councilmember George Brietigam said, adding \u201cthere is some other work going on right now that does not involve MMA.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brietigam\u2019s First District includes the GKN Aerospace facility on Western Avenue, where emergency crews responded ahead of the Memorial Day weekend to the malfunctioning tank, worried it could explode or spill the hazardous chemical.<\/p>\n
He made the announcement during a Tuesday, Aug. 11, City Council meeting, during which dozens of community members queued up to demand answers to lingering questions about the incident and actions from their elected officials, including pushing for a pause on new military manufacturing facilities in the city or any expansions to existing sites and for tighter safety and environmental regulations.<\/p>\n
GKN Aerospace, headquartered in the United Kingdom, is a global leader in civil and military aircraft manufacturing.<\/a> Its plant in West Garden Grove employs more than 500 people and specializes in producing cockpit windshields, jet canopies and aviation windows. MMA, a toxic and volatile substance that can impact the respiratory system, is used as an ingredient in heat-resistant coatings in the aerospace industry.<\/p>\n But the councilmembers said they\u2019re limited in what they can do and share, and also said that communication with GKN Aerospace has been \u201cfrustrating.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very hard for us to not be able to share openly all the answers and not to have them, quite frankly,\u201d Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein said. \u2029\u201dBut things are so nuanced and so wrapped in litigation and we\u2019re demanding these requests over and over and over again and to be able to get the information that we want in the timely manner that we want.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s extremely frustrating, especially knowing people are still hurting,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n