LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal authorities served a search warrant on Wednesday at a Southern California aerospace facility where a chemical tank overheated last month, forcing 50,000 residents to evacuate.
The warrant signed by a federal judge last week approved the seizure of documents and records related to the “storage, use, or disposal” of methyl methacrylate, the chemical inside the affected tank.
“Samples of the substance within any tank, tote, drum,
vat, vessel, or container suspected of containing or having previously contained methyl methacrylate and/or any hazardous substance” were also sought, according to the warrant.
The warrant also orders agents to seize records related to “any cooling equipment or other equipment used to control or regulate the temperature of methyl methacrylate.”
The FBI confirmed its agents were searching GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems in the Orange County city of Garden Grove.
GKN Aerospace makes cockpit windows, canopies and windshields. The tank that overheated contained 6,000 to 7,000 gallons (22,700 to 26,500 liters) of methyl methacrylate, which is highly flammable Exposure to the chemical can cause serious respiratory problems, neurological issues and irritation to the skin, eyes and throat, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Separately, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office also is conducting a criminal investigation into the GKN Aerospace plant, according to spokesperson Kimberly Edds.
“We have sent a preservation letter to GKN directing them not to modify or destroy any evidence, which the company’s outside counsel confirmed receipt,” Edds told The Associated Press in an email.
About a dozen people and businesses that were among the 50,000 evacuated during the chemical emergency have filed federal lawsuits against the company.
