Industrial site with smoke rising from storage tanks, surrounded by parked vehicles and railway tracks in the background.

Industrial site with smoke rising from storage tanks, surrounded by parked vehicles and railway tracks in the background.

40,000 residents in Orange County, California, were evacuated on Friday amid a chemical leak at an aerospace facility.

On Thursday, a valve overheated on a 34,000-gallon tank used to make plastics.

Authorities said the tank, located in Garden Grove, could either explode or spill thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals.

Several evacuation centers were opened; however, many residents are still refusing to leave their homes.

On Friday evening, Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief and Unified Incident Commander Craig Covey said the temperature of the tank had come down.

“It’s down to a temperature around 61 degrees, with 50 being its happy place,” Craig Covey said.

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CNN reported:

Approximately 40,000 residents in Orange County, California, are under evacuation orders as authorities are concerned a tank filled with a toxic chemical will either leak or explode.

Authorities have spent the past two days trying to prevent the tank, which is full of the chemical methyl methacrylate, from exploding after it began to overheat. Evacuation orders were issued to those in the 9-square-mile area around the facility involved, impacting over 40,000 residents.

The chemical, also known as MMA, is used to manufacture plastics and can potentially cause respiratory issues if humans are exposed, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The temperature of the tank is continuing to decrease, Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief and Unified Incident Commander Craig Covey said in an update Friday evening. Officials are using drones to monitor the temperature of the tank.

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