A pressurized tank at an aerospace facility in Garden Grove contains methyl methacrylate and is experiencing a critical failure that could lead to an explosion. Officials reported that the tank temperature rose to 90 degrees by Saturday morning, up from 77 degrees a day earlier, and is increasing about a degree per hour. The tank is near an elementary school and residential neighborhood. The chemical’s boiling point is 101 degrees Celsius, while the temperature gauge detects only up to 100 degrees. Experts said explosion risk increases above 100 degrees because liquid can shift to gas, expanding volume and raising pressure. Officials have not disclosed a specific threshold for imminent explosion, and the timing of a resolution remains uncertain.
"By Saturday morning, the temperature in the pressurized tank at an aerospace firm in Garden Grove was 90 degrees, up from 77 degrees a day earlier. Temperatures are increasing about a degree per hour, Craig Covey, an Orange County Fire Authority division chief, said Saturday morning."
"The boiling point of the chemical inside the tank, methyl methacrylate, is 101 degrees Celsius. The temperature gauge on the tank detects temperatures only up to 100 degrees. Officials haven't disclosed at what particular temperature would they think that an explosion is imminent."
""It depends on the integrity of the tank, and the composition of the tank, and the pressure capacity of the tank," Picazo said. "But, yes, above 100, the pressure starts to increase dramatically, because the liquid phase becomes gas phase, and gas takes up any space available. It'll take up more volume and become highly pressurized.""
"The question, experts say, is whether officials can somehow deal with the dangerous chemicals in a way that does not end in a blast or the type of spill that causes environmental degradation."
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