I’m worried that the chemical crisis resulting in evacuation of 40,000 people in California may have been industrial sabotage. I have no evidence but I have a strong hunch. This is based on 20 years in chemical distribution. I own a company in the space and have (in the past) sold this exact product, Methyl Methacrylate. The tank is owned by a company called GKN Aerospace. According to their website they service 90% of civilian and military aircraft manufacturers with engine components and other parts. Based on the chemistry involved, this site was likely making acrylic glass for cockpit windows. (Though I’m speculating on the application). If true, this is an important defense contractor at a time when aircraft components are a National security imperative.
The claim is that a valve problem prevented hazmat teams from accessing the product which is in a slow uncontrolled run away reaction. I am not a chemical engineer or a chemist but I have sales level knowledge about this product. I see three major problems with what is being shared:
1.) methyl methacrylate is a monomer. It naturally wants to polymerize which uncontrolled is a violent exothermic reaction. To prevent uncontrolled reactions an inhibitor is added to the product. Usually it’s MEHQ but there are alternatives to that.15-50ppm is enough to inhibit the reactivity of this product under normal conditions. The inhibitor can be reintroduced if it falls too low. It is possible to overpower the inhibitor by adding something to initiate the reaction. I think that is generally an organic peroxide but there is never a reason that an organic peroxide or other initiator would be allowed near a tank of acrylic monomer. Therefore any reaction that got started should be able to be arrested by adding more inhibitor. Why is that not being done and/or why did it not work? Most likely this implies contamination which most often happens in a delivery truck that wasn’t properly washed after shipping an incompatible material. This is job#1 of a shipping department. Not someplace you expect surprises.
2.) the claim that a valve problem is preventing access to the material is suspicious. A bulk tank like this has multiple valves and access points including a manhole for tank clean out. All of them are damaged? If there was an uncontrolled exothermic reaction creating insane pressures I could understand that….you don’t open a pressure cooker under pressure, especially one full of hazardous chemicals, but that leads me to point 3.
3.) I read a description from a local news source saying the tank had risen from 77 degrees to 96 degrees and was continuing to rise at 1 degree an hour. That is not a runaway exothermic event. I can’t think of a reason that a pressure relief system paired with vapor recovery shouldn’t operate under those conditions.
I can’t say for sure what has occurred and I could be wrong about all of this. I am only speculating and I don’t any first hand knowledge but to my eye something doesn’t add up.
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/40000-evacuated-southern-california-chemical-tank-threatens-leak-or-explosion
