Supervisor Janet Nguyen calls on GKN to accept damage claims from residents, businesses

Supervisor Janet Nguyen calls on GKN to accept damage claims from residents, businesses

EDITOR’S NOTE: GKN letter attached

GARDEN GROVE, CA — GKN Aerospace is responsible for what could have been one of the nation’s biggest chemical disasters last week. Thankfully, due to the skill of the Orange County Fire Authority and other agencies, this disaster was averted without injury or death. 

Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen is calling on GKN to immediately post a page on its website where residents and businesses can submit claims for reimbursement. This is the first step in making the residents and businesses within the cities of Garden Grove, Stanton and surrounding areas whole again. 

“A chemical tank was on the verge of exploding, which had the potential of injuring and killing numerous people. This sent about 50,000 people scrambling to shelters, hotel rooms and even taking refuge in their cars for at least four days,” said Supervisor Janet Nguyen. “The terror and inconvenience caused by this episode should not be minimized. My constituents are rightfully angry and they need to know GKN is taking responsibility.” 

Some businesses, such as restaurants, lost tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenue and discarded spoiled food. And many residents stayed in hotels and bought all their meals since they didn’t have  kitchens. 

The County is directing the public to https://www.ocgov.com/gkn-aerospace-hazmat-incident, its GKN hazmat webpage with information on the incident. The webpage has a link for businesses to fill out an application that will be submitted to the Small Business Administration for potential aid. 

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Supervisor Janet Nguyen represents the First District of Orange County Board of Supervisors, which is the cities of Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Westminster and the unincorporated areas of Midway City and Rossmoor. Supervisor Nguyen  served in the California State Senate, California State Assembly and as Orange County Supervisor and Garden Grove City Councilmember.