Chemical Tank Ruptures in California and Washington Kill at Least Nine Workers

A damaged 7,000-gallon chemical storage tank containing methyl methacrylate stood at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, California, prompting several tense days for tens of thousands of southern California residents who wondered whether the tank would explode or spill.

Water was sprayed on the damaged tank at the Garden Grove site on 24 May. The methyl methacrylate held there is one of many toxic chemicals commonly found in American cities, according to The Guardian.

An explosion occurred on 26 May at Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co in Longview, Washington, when a chemical tank holding white liquor ruptured. The blast left at least nine people dead, with two additional workers still missing. Some contents of the ruptured tank spilled into a nearby drainage ditch.

The Chemical Safety Board investigated five major chemical spills or explosions in 2025 and 2024. OSHA oversees some 12,000 industrial sites that handle hazardous chemicals under its risk management plan. Hydrogen sulfide accidental releases have killed six workers in three separate incidents over the last three years, according to the Chemical Safety Board.

Stephen Kmiotek, a professor of chemical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, said the risk of a tank failure is really very, very low because tanks are made to very exacting standards and the risk to the general populace is really very low.

Kmiotek said chemical disasters in the United States are like airline crashes: extremely unlikely events that attract major attention when they occur because they are so horrific. Kmiotek said people can get a list of hazardous chemicals stored in their areas at their local fire department.

In 1984 the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal leaked 40 tons of methyl isocyanate gas. The leak killed 3,800 people immediately and exposed at least 100,000 others. The Bhopal incident drove major reform in the United States including an overhaul of OSHA regulations and the passage of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.