The remainder of the 50,000 residents who were evacuated may return home.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that its goals are to ensure a cleanup is conducted and that a community air monitoring program is in place after a volatile methyl methacrylate tank in Garden Grove, California, was in danger of exploding late last week. Both President Donald Trump and Governor Gavin Newsom issued emergency declarations in response to the incident.
A valve in the cooling system of the 34,000-gallon storage tank failed, which resulted in some of the chemical leaking from a crack in the tank. The EPA worked with local fire officials to monitor the air around the facility, as around 50,000 residents in the region were told to evacuate. Acting Regional Administrator Martin Martucci of EPA’s Region 9 said that hazardous materials were not detected in the air. Firefighters used unmanned hoses to help cool the tank.
Acting Administrator Martucci stated, “Now we’re going to transition into an environmental cleanup phase where the focus is going to be to remove the long-term hazard, the longer-term threat from the community.”
“It’s not often an incident like this occurs, which certainly is very good. However, when incidents like this occur, it’s important to have a framework or response framework that’s robust, that can deal with issues like this,” the acting regional administrator said. “There was expertise that existed both in the state and EPA and otherwise to neutralize the reaction that was occurring inside of the tank and protect human health in the environment.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Administrator Zeldin to seek God’s direction as he heads the EPA.
- For Acting Regional Administrator Martucci to be discerning as he engages with local leaders on air quality monitoring and cleanup.
Sources: Washington Examiner, Townhall, MSN, Fox LA
