More than 50,000 residents of Orange County, California, who had to evacuate the area in May due to a hazmat incident, are eligible for compensation under a claims program capped at $100 million.
The evacuation orders were issued on May 21 due to a threat of explosion or leak from a chemical tank in a facility owned by GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems Inc., a British-based multinational corporation, in Orange County’s Garden Grove, roughly 26 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
The tank contained an extremely toxic chemical. The evacuation orders were in effect for five days.
The newly set up $100 million GKN claims program will allow all residents and businesses forced to evacuate during this incident “to be reimbursed for expenses including hotel stays, loss of use, and per diem compensation for meals, transportation, and loss of wages,” the Orange County District Attorney’s office said in an Aug. 24 statement….