As crews are cleaning up the hazardous chemical that leaked a week ago at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, Orange County health officials are warning people that they may smell a fruity or plastic odor.
“The product has a very low odor threshold, meaning people may notice a scent even when concentrations are well below levels associated with health concerns,” health officials with the Orange County Healthcare Agency explained in a press release that came out on Tuesday. “Air monitoring continues at the facility perimeter and in the surrounding community to ensure public safety and guide response actions.”
Health officials said that between Thursday and Friday, crews will be neutralizing the methyl methacrylate (MMA) from the storage tanks. Then they are putting it in sealed trucks and going to dispose of it.
KNX News’ Emily Valdez spoke to a mail carrier who was in the area about whether or not he smelled it.
“Currently, right now, I've only been walking around maybe for the last 15 minutes, or so I haven't really smelled anything,” he said. “Even funnier though, that you ask, I actually delivered over there to the area over there today.”
He said he smelled “something a little off,” but it wasn’t too noticeable.
Valdez reported that she smelled a weird, faint odor, but nothing too fruity or like plastic.
The leak happened on May 21 and prompted the evacuations of thousands of Garden Grove residents.
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