I decided to settle in Orange County for the same reasons my maternal grandparents did when they arrived from the frozen Midwest in the 1950s: Stunning beaches, clean air and the comfortable predictability and safety of life behind the so-called “Orange Curtain.”
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But that sense of security which drew generations of families to this place was shattered Memorial Day weekend when a pressurized tank containing a toxic chemical at GKN Aerospace was at risk of exploding and leveling homes.
Thankfully, an explosion, which would have certainly caused catastrophic damage, was avoided. But the tanks, which contain a highly reactive liquid chemical known as methyl methacrylate, or MMA, used to make materials such as plexiglass, are still at the facility. Plans to remove the chemical from the tanks last week were postponed with no new date announced as of Tuesday.
The feeling of safety is gone
The ordeal has changed the way neighbors feel about living adjacent to the aerospace company.
It’s clear Ruben Delgado and his wife, Nancy, take great pride in their single-story house on Santa Rosalia Street, which sits just 100 yards from the tanks at GKN Aerospace.
They’ve lived there since the early 1980s, raised two boys and remodeled their property into an entertainer’s paradise where they host friends and family for BBQs, celebrations and big Thanksgiving dinners. They had never given much thought to the industrial operations just a stones throw away. Now they wonder if it’s even safe to sit outside on their patio or tend to their plants.
“I want that place shut down,” Ruben told me as we sat in his foyer on Monday. “People are scared.”
Industrial sites border neighborhoods in O.C.
This isn’t the first time an industrial site has been at odds with neighbors in O.C.
In 2023, All American Asphalt in Irvine closed after the city agreed to purchase the property for $285 million following years of complaints from residents about air pollution stemming from the plant.
The chaos in Garden Grove caused so much concern that neighboring Los Angeles County this month launched an online map to let people know whether they live or work near an industrial or waste site, as my colleague Rong-Gong Lin II reported.
Though the Delgado family has returned home, they still have many unanswered questions about the risks of living near GKN Aerospace.
Nancy wonders what chemicals, if any, they were exposed to before evacuation orders were given and air monitoring began. When they returned home days later, a putrid chemical smell lingered in the house, she said.
GKN Aerospace donated $3 million to Orange County United Way’s OC Community Resilience Fund to provide assistance to affected residents in the wake of the incident. But company representatives have yet to provide an accounting of what led to the tank’s failure and whether operations will be changed in the aftermath.
Many questions left unanswered
The company did not respond to questions emailed by The Times. GKN Aerospace is facing dozens of lawsuits stemming from the incident.
The Garden Grove City Council sent a letter to the company demanding answers and urging them to “step forward and address the community directly” at Tuesday’s council meeting.
“The community deserves a full accounting of how this incident happened and what actions must be taken to protect public health, safety and the surrounding community,” the letter reads. “GKN’s $3 million contribution to the OC Community Resilience Fund is a start, but it is not nearly enough to address the full impact experienced by the community.”
Most critically, Nancy wants to know what’s going to change going forward. The fear, as always, is in the unknown: “How do we know this won’t happen again?”
Today’s top stories 
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(Allen J. Schaben, left, & Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
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(Photo illustration by Jim Cooke / Los Angeles Times; Photos by Getty Images)
Going outStaying inA question for you: What’s your favorite California summer song?
Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.
And finally … your photo of the day 
The Point Vicente lighthouse, perched above the water where Gray Whale Census volunteers keep watch.
(Jackie Snow)
Today’s great photo is from Jackie Snow, who walked the entire 75-mile L.A. coastline for this story.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Hailey Branson-Potts, staff writer
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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