Chemical leak/possible explosion

BrandiBrandi
edited May 23 in General

This Orange County chemical leak is insane.
My family has been evacuated, my partners work is shut down. We’re a few miles away from the evacuation zone keeping a close eye on the news incase they extend the evacuation orders if/when this thing blows up.

Freaking out..seems like it’s just waiting around to see what happens. Hope everyone and their families/pets are doing okay. Keeping everyone in thoughts and prayers. Stay safe y’all.

Comments

  • BearBear

    @Brandi

    May I send you grounding energy?

  • BrandiBrandi

    @Bear thank you! 🙌 much needed.
    So crazy I’m in the midst of moving plans and was supposed to leave California the 31st.
    Now just thinking might possibly leave sooner than that and panic mode pack everything to go.
    California Had to leave me with a chaotic crazy goodbye 😂

  • BearBear

    Sending you grounding energy to help you get through as well as anything else that’s needed

  • BrandiBrandi

    @Bear ❤️❤️ Thank you much! 🤗

  • MeltMyWayMeltMyWay

    I was just hosting in Anaheim a couple weeks ago. I heard about it as I got to my hotel in Ontario today. I had to look and see how close I am but I'm almost 45 min away. So very scary. Stay safe!! Do y'all have somewhere to go if there is an evacuation?

  • BrandiBrandi

    @meltmyway Oh good! Glad you have some distance between you! So so scary.
    I’m close to knotts berry farm so I’m keeping an eye on if they get an evacuation notice, and seems like they are still open to the public at the moment.
    If there is an evacuation here we might just leave to our new home in ohio and just get a head start on that journey. Hopefully not though. Still have some loose ends to tie up over here/selling and getting rid of furniture and what not. But if we just gotta go then I guess it is what it is. 😭

  • MeltMyWayMeltMyWay

    Be safe and keep us updated

  • MeltMyWayMeltMyWay

    I sent you a message about an emergency place to stay for tomorrow night if needed

  • MorpheusMorpheus

    I live about 10 miles from the chemical leak so I’m not in immediate danger but it is scary. I feel for those who live in that area. I’m not directly a first responder but my job supports first responders so every time I get a text I cringe thinking is that going to be a call to duty. Im. It sure if I would be able to hear the explosion from where im at.

  • JasonCuddlesJasonCuddles

    What chemical(s) is it?

  • MorpheusMorpheus

    @JasonCuddles

    methyl methacrylate (MMA)

  • KaybloomKaybloom

    Omg!! please stay safe! Sending you love and guidance.

  • CarrieCACarrieCA
    edited May 24

    Misinformation posted in good faith. Preserved to maintain the sense of the thread.
    @CuddleDuncan

    “Directly across the street from the potential explosion site is a propane factory with large propane tanks the size of three story buildings. If this thing blows up it will be catastrophic because it's not just about this one area blowing up. It will trigger other pipes and propane tanks that are underground that run for about 30 miles this is actually more dangerous than you could possibly imagine.”

    Stay safe everyone 💔

  • CuddleDuncanCuddleDuncan Mod
    edited May 24

    I started to read up on this, for no particular reason, and I was puzzled by the large size of the evacuation area for what is a pretty modest incident. So I read up a bit more.

    As toxic chemicals go MMA is pretty benign. Other than the immediate area which is at risk of flying debris if the tank goes bang, the evacuation zone is mostly about protecting people with respiratory conditions. And the Fire Department from lawsuits, obviously.

    Turns out the evacuation area is consistent with the area you'd need to evacuate if the material in danger of exploding was actual explosives. In other words it is larger than necessary, but better safe than sorry.

    The amount of MMA required to kill a person is unknown but it's huge - perhaps a pint. In other words nobody is going to die, with the possible exception of an unlucky firefighter or chemical technician. In situations like this the authorities and media the world over always play up the risk so that people take the evacuation orders seriously.

    They can't just drop a grenade from a drone and let everybody go home because the tank is right next to houses, the factory it belongs to, and a self-storage unit. All they need to do is drain it, but they can't because the valve is knackered. Normally you'd just bash a hole in the bottom, or in the top and pour in some appropriate neutralising chemcials, but ..... anybody wanna volunteer to do that?

    The tank is 3/4 empty so if it does blow and ignite, the explosion could be pretty impressive. The oxidation products are basically harmless, so as far as downwind is concerned a fabulous fireball is better than the MMA spraying into the air. Obviously the opposite is true if your house is the nearest one.

    If it's a good explosion then yes there is a fair chance you would be able to hear it from ten miles away.

    TL:DR - If you're more than about three blocks away your biggest risk is a road traffic accident.

    Sources: numerous websites. Start with Wikipedia page
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_Grove_chemical_leak

    This one is fun .... if you don't get out much
    https://unsaferguard.org/un-saferguard/explosion-danger-area

    Google maps search
    GKN Aerospace Transparency

  • CuddleDuncanCuddleDuncan Mod
    edited May 24

    @CarrieCA where does that quote come from?

    I can't find any propane tanks in the vicinity of the incident.

    There are two buildings adjacent to the dangerous tank, one is the factory it belongs to and the other is CR&R Environmental Services. Next nearest are some houses and a self-storage place. Perhaps somebody who knows the area could enlighten us further.

    Edit: I found what appears to be a single gas pump about half a mile away.

    The underlying point, that a large explosion could trigger secondary explosions, is a real concern.

  • CarrieCACarrieCA
    edited May 24

    It was a comment on aaronparnas’ post on ig, coming from an employee of the company housing the MMA tanks

    Ditto

  • CuddleDuncanCuddleDuncan Mod
    edited May 24

    Thank you @CarrieCA. There is an underground natural gas pipeline about half a block south of the site. That's methane not propane but still. There are indeed miles of pipelines underneath Orange County and presumably further.

    I can't find any evidence of a propane factory anywhere in Orange County, and Google maps and streetview both have a complete absence of anything propane-y nearby.

    Continuing to dig.

    Edit: OK this is definitely a deliberate lie on the part of whoever runs the cory_warceo account. It's nothing to do with aaronparnas, it's just a comment on his piece about the story. Several people have replied to the comment to point out that it is untrue, and the kicker is that somebody else has used false information to try and prove that it is true. (Claiming that the "Western Propane Factory" is in the area. But there is no such thing. The Western Propane Gas Association is a trade body based in Sacramento.)

    "Cory" posted at 10pm London time which is 2pm in LA yesterday 23rd claiming to have "worked there last night" i.e. the 22nd. But the incident happened at 3.40pm on the 21st so he couldn't have been there on the evening of the 22nd, or even the 21st.

    Classic example of deliberate misinformation for the purpose of spreading general fear and disquiet.

  • CarrieCACarrieCA

    Wow my mistake, I know people do a lot of crazy things for attention but lying about something like that is unfathomable, thanks for the fact check neighbor. Stay safe.

  • cuddlefaerycuddlefaery

    I hope everyone stays safe down there, especially given the concurrent fires. 💖

    That said - I do hope the fact checkers continue to do due diligence. Panic caused by misinformation can cause real lasting damage 😞

  • SweetCuddler33SweetCuddler33

    Praying that everyone is safe 🙏 💕

  • GraciousGracious

    Please stay safe everyone, sending tons of love from over here ❤️

  • BellaAineBellaAine
    edited May 24

    Stay safe. We’ve had our share of incidents along the Houston Ship Channel / Southeast Houston petrochemical corridor, so my heart goes out to everyone dealing with this right now. I’m in the Southwest part of Houston, so not in the usual evacuation zone, but we do worry that the winds might drift things our way(it has). Sending lots of love and healing energy to everyone in proximity of it and to those who may not have the means to evacuate. 💛💛💛

    @CuddleDuncan you are very much appreciated, thank you for the thorough research and the adequate information you provided! 🫂

  • CuddleDuncanCuddleDuncan Mod
    edited May 24

    Thank you everybody. I knew that post was misinformation the instant I saw it and I've been thinking about how I knew.

    • It was a Comment. Comments are not supposed to be things you want to re-post, they're just ... Comments. So if you find yourself thinking about forwarding a Comment, "Alarm bells, alarm bells"

    • "I worked there last night" is slightly strange form of words in itself and very strange for a factory. People just don't say that.

    • "Here's what they're not telling you". Absolute classic misinformation manipulation. That phrase alone is a major red flag.

    • The thing they are not telling you is about the existence of a huge factory. Really? You're claiming that there are 3-story propane tanks next door to the incident and the local people don't know about it? And the media haven't noticed? And somehow they magically just don't appear on the overhead helicopter footage every local TV channel is filming? "Alarm bells, alarm bells"

    • Propane pipelines? Oil pipelines yes. Natural gas pipelines yes. But propane pipelines would require pressurisation, so while it's perfectly possible - I'm sure there are some somewhere - it immediately sounds suspicious.

    • The alledged consequence is the destruction of the whole of Los Angeles. From one tank of a not-especially-dangerous chemical?? That's one helluva chain reaction you're postulating there, buddy, like the biggest and most complex chain reaction that has ever happened in human history.

    Put those all together and you have a destroyed chocolate cake next to a toddler covered from head to foot in chocolate cake saying, "I didn't see any cake".

    This has some outdated lyrics (it's an old clip) but still a great song from a very funny guy:

    Tim Vine - Alarm Bells

  • trysdettrysdet

    This is scary. Please stay safe

  • SpicyNSweetSpicyNSweet

    Horrible 😔

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