Representatives Tran, Garcia Demand Answers from GKN Aerospace on Garden Grove Chemical Emergency

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Representative Derek Tran (CA-45) and House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia (CA-42) demanded answers from GKN Aerospace Chief Executive Officer Peter Dilnot about the chemical emergency at the company's facility in Garden Grove, California, that forced nearly 50,000 residents to evacuate their homes over Memorial Day Weekend.

Read the full text of the letter HERE.

"Over 50,000 residents were displaced, and 5,000 small businesses were forced to close because of the hazmat incident at GKN Aerospace. Families and small business owners are rightfully angry and frightened," said Congressman Derek Tran. "I am grateful to our heroic first responders for keeping our community safe and solving the immediate crisis, but we must now turn to the work of recovery and accountability to ensure that this can never happen again. GKN leadership must answer directly to the community for the chaos and disruption this crisis has caused."

"GKN Aerospace exposed Orange County and Garden Grove to the risk of a catastrophic chemical explosion," said Congressman Robert Garcia. "Thousands of families have been forced to evacuate and people are living in fear. We need answers on what happened, why it happened, how they will prevent this from happening again."

In the letter to GKN Aerospace, Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia and Representative Derek Tran wrote, "Over the Memorial Day weekend, more than 50,000 Californians were forced to evacuate their homes due to the risk of a chemical explosion at a facility owned by GKN Aerospace. As a result of your company's operations, the residents of Garden Grove and surrounding communities have faced unacceptable risks to their safety and significant disruption to their lives. We demand answers around the circumstances that led to this catastrophic threat and the steps GKN Aerospace will take to prevent future risks to the community and the environment."

Representative Tran has called on GKN Aerospace to take full accountability for the chaos and disruption residents have experienced due to the Garden Grove hazmat crisis, known as the "Western Incident." He has spoken to GKN leadership and invited the leadership to answer directly to residents at a community meeting. Representative Tran is monitoring all possible accountability measures to ensure that an incident like this never happens again.

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Congressman Derek Tran represents California's 45th Congressional District. Serving his first term in Congress, Congressman Tran is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and House Small Business Committee, where he is Ranking Member of the Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations Subcommittee. Congressman Tran is the son of Vietnamese refugees, a Veteran, and fought for consumers as an attorney before entering Congress.