Of note, there is currently a chemical emergency in Garden Grove, California.  Upwards to 40,000 people have been evacuated.  One L.A. TV Station is providing frequent updates, but they are not terribly informative.  The first article (first link) I encountered described the beginning of this event this way, “The leak occurred around 3:30 p.m. Thursday when the 34,000-gallon storage tank containing methyl methacrylate overheated and began venting vapors into the air at the facility, which is located at 12122 Western Ave.”  The vapor release occurred because the tank overheated – for reasons that have not currently been reported upon and probably are not known.  It is important to note that the vapor release is “the leak” that is being reported upon over and over.  Technically it is a leak, but a vapor discharge is quite different from a spill, which is what the term “leak” conjures in most people’s minds.

Secondary thing to note – also quoted from that first link:

“Respiratory is our primary concern, so it’s a respiratory irritant,” said Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Nick Freeman about the effect it can have on people. “So it can start off very mild but it can progress to a point where, yes, you would probably require hospitalization, if not more.”

If you smell this material – methyl methacrylate – you are not going to die – don’t panic, just move.  Only if you stay and become engulfed in the fumes will this advance to the point of serious injury.  Way too many people panic over this stuff when they just need to move away – walk away actually.  By the way, you might recognize the smell as methyl methacrylate is a component of some nail polish.

Bear in mind, this sort of thing is how I made my living for years and I have a real problem with statements like this:

The storage tank could either spill thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals or it could explode, officials say. They stressed there’s no active gas leak or toxic plume in the area at this point, but they’re preparing for the tank to fail.

This is not a situation with only binary outcomes.  Yes, the evacuation is smart.  Yes, the tank could fail and preparations for such a failure are smart – but explosion or spill are not the only possible outcomes and to say such generates fear and creates panic – the last thing needed.  Whatever “official” uttered that is an idiot.

I shall resist the temptation to get into speculative analysis and the very tall chemical weeds, but I felt compelled to wrote this to counter the panic and fear that I know is rising in the area.  There is a problem and a large number of people are inconvenienced by that problem.  But there are, as of yet, no injuries or fatalities.  This is not a catastrophe.  Chill, be smart and it’ll be fine.

And now, the Saturday Round-up.  I did not include the round-up on my initial post this morning due to its length and very serious nature, so here it is,

Speaking of idiots in California.

This frightens me – deeply.  Forget the gender-bending stuff, we are chemically altering childhood in so many ways – without any genuine knowledge of the adults that will result from it.  Related?

You are rich, even if you do not know you are.

This is a very worthy read – very worthy.  I would; however, remind the author that Oppenheimer thought he had achieved god-like power as well – not even close.