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GARDEN GROVE, Calif. () — Garden Grove city leaders are set to meet Thursday as clean-up efforts continue following a major chemical tank emergency that forced tens of thousands of residents from their homes over Memorial Day weekend.
A special City Council meeting is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Thursday, where officials will receive guidance from county agencies on how to pursue accountability.
Community members have continued calling for action in the aftermath of the incident, which displaced about 50,000 people in a sudden evacuation that left many scrambling for shelter.
GKN Aerospace, the company at the center of the emergency, has pledged about $5 million in response to the incident so far. Residents, however, say they want stronger assurances that similar events will not happen again.
At a recent meeting, community members urged city leaders to hold the company responsible.
“Mayor, you said that GKN must be held accountable, and it is your responsibility to ensure that this takes place. It is the responsibility of every single person on this council to do everything in your power to ensure GKN is held accountable,” one speaker said.
Another resident criticized the broader industry, saying, “This is not the result of one mistake, this is the result of an industry and company that treats our community as disposable in order to line their pockets.”
In the meantime, cleanup operations are ongoing. County officials said crews will continue pumping neutralized chemicals from the tanks Thursday and Friday as part of the removal process.
The chemicals are being transferred into sealed trucks for off-site disposal.
Residents and workers in the area may notice a “distinctive fruity or plastic-like odor” during this process. County health officials said the smell does not indicate a health risk, noting that air monitoring shows concentrations remain well below levels associated with health concerns.
Officials encouraged members of the public to attend Thursday’s meeting at the Garden Grove Community Meeting Center to voice their concerns as the community looks for answers. The meeting will also be livestreamed at www.ggcity.org/ggtv3-live.
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