A failing toxic chemical tank in Orange County has climbed to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the highest temperature reading on its gauge, as officials push to cool it to 50 degrees to reduce explosion risk.
For days, Orange County officials have been watching a toxic chemical tank closely—counting down temperatures, calculating pressure, and waiting for signs that it can be stabilized. On Sunday, the gauge stopped giving them answers the way it had before.
The tank reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the maximum reading on the thermometer, officials said. State Sen. Tom Umberg said Sunday evening that the tank was “at 100 degrees, or at least that’s as high as the thermometer would go.”
The change has been swift in recent days. On Saturday morning, officials said the temperature was at 90 degrees. On Friday, it was at 77 degrees.
The operational goal has been clear: reduce the temperature inside the tank to 50 degrees. But even as crews work toward that target. officials have not made public what specific temperature would trigger an explosion. leaving the threat level tied to data that still isn’t fully transparent to the public.
Earlier on Sunday, Orange County Fire Authority interim chief TJ McGovern said firefighters overnight detected “a potential crack in the tank, which could potentially be relieving some of the pressure in there.”
McGovern said the new development could affect how responders approach the event. “With this new information, it could change our trajectory and our strategy to this event,” he said Sunday morning. “We’re not there yet, but this was a step in a right direction.”
Across the federal and state response. attention has remained on whether the tank can be brought under control without a dangerous release. Lee Zeldin, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator. expressed optimism Sunday morning. saying he was told the most likely scenario involves a limited release that local authorities could manage.
“I’m being told this morning that the most likely scenario is one of a low volume release, where the local authorities are going to be able to monitor, neutralize and contain the threat,” he said during a Sunday morning appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Orange County toxic chemical tank 100 degrees TJ McGovern Tom Umberg EPA Lee Zeldin fire authority explosion risk
100 degrees and the thermometer maxed out… so basically it’s about to explode right? Seems like they waited too long.
Why are they saying 50 degrees like that’s magically safe? Also how is it “not fully transparent” if the public is nearby??
I heard on Facebook the crack in the tank means it’s already leaking, like “releasing pressure” = bad chemical fumes already flying. But idk, everybody keeps saying different temperatures.
So it was 77 on Friday, 90 Saturday, 100 Sunday… that’s like a straight up video game countdown. If they don’t even know the explosion number publicly then what are we supposed to do, just watch the gauge?