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Water is sprayed onto an overheated 34,000-gal. tank at GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems on May 23, 2026, in Garden Grove, California.
GKN Aerospace's parent company Melrose says one of its industrial sites in the U.S. has suffered a chemical accident and signaled it could cause operational disruptions.
The incident occurred May 21 and lasted for several days, Melrose said in a May 26 disclosure. Local authorities for the GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems facility in Garden Grove, California, on May 22 issued mandatory evacuation orders that were narrowed three days later. Schools and other facilities in the vicinity were ordered to close.
“GKN is working closely with customers on operational recovery and supply plans,” Melrose said. According to the London-listed parent, the site “designs, manufactures and provides aftermarket support for advanced military and commercial transparencies.” In fiscal 2025, the site generated sales of £136 million ($183 million), Melrose said.
The company described what transpired as “a thermal issue” involving a storage tank containing methyl methacrylate, used to produce high-strength aerospace acrylic materials.
Local authorities in Orange County said they responded to vapor release from a 34,000-gal. tank containing methyl methacrylate at 3:22 p.m. local time on May 21. The tank suffered one crack and peeling of the weather stripping, but there was no active leak as of May 25, they said. GKN employs some 500 staff at the site.
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