About 50 gallons of water spilled into a storm drain at the GKN Aerospace facility in Garden Grove, California, prompting new testing to determine whether the water contained any traces of toxic chemicals linked to a recent industrial incident.

Orange County health officials said the tests are specifically looking for methyl methacrylate (MMA), a chemical involved in a major safety scare at the same site in late May.

The facility had previously stored roughly 7,000 gallons of MMA in a tank that became pressurized and overheated, leading to a serious risk of explosion.

That earlier incident prompted the evacuation of approximately 50,000 residents across several nearby cities, including Garden Grove, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, and Westminster.Officials later confirmed that the tank had cracked and was no longer pressurized, reducing the immediate danger.The most recent spill occurred during a routine transfer of stormwater from an onsite containment tank into a 275-gallon storage tote.During the process, an overflow caused about 50 gallons of water to enter a storm drain.Authorities stated that standard notifications were made and that some of the spilled water was recovered during cleanup efforts.

Health officials believe the likelihood of finding significant traces of MMA in the spilled water is low, but testing is still underway as a precaution.

Air monitoring systems deployed during the original incident have not detected any MMA in the surrounding environment, and state health agencies have maintained that there is no current risk to the public from exposure.

Officials also noted that the planned transfer of neutralized MMA for disposal was delayed, and that the chemical may produce a faint fruity or plastic-like odor even at very low concentrations.Despite ongoing concerns, agencies continue to emphasize that no long-term health impacts are expected in the community.