Orange County District Attorney’s Office Negotiates Claims Program of Up to $100 Million for the More than 50,000 Orange County Residents Evacuated During GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, Inc. Hazmat Incident in Garden Grove Negotiations are Ongoing to Develop a Robust Monitoring and Safety Plan as Part of Potential Civil Disposition

Orange County District Attorney’s Office Negotiates Claims Program
of Up to $100 Million for the More than 50,000 Orange County Residents Evacuated During
GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, Inc. Hazmat Incident in Garden Grove

Negotiations are Ongoing to Develop a Robust Monitoring and Safety Plan as Part of Potential Civil Disposition

SANTA ANA, Calif. – The Orange County District Attorney’s Office has successfully negotiated a claims program of up to $100 million for the more than 50,000 Orange County residents who were forced to evacuate the area surrounding GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, Inc. in May as a chemical tank containing an extremely toxic chemical threatened to explode. In addition to the community claims program, the District Attorney’s Office is also negotiating terms of a settlement agreement as part of a civil disposition with GKN to include a comprehensive safety plan and ongoing independent monitoring to ensure the safe operation of the Garden Grove plant.

The GKN claims program, which will be administered by an independent third party not affiliated with GKN, will allow residents and businesses forced to evacuate during the May 2026 incident to be reimbursed for expenses including hotel stays, loss of use, and per diem compensation for meals, transportation, and loss of wages. An estimated 13,000 to 17,000 households were evacuated during a five-day period beginning May 21, 2026.

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer announced on May 23, 2026, that he was launching a criminal investigation into the circumstances leading up to the incident. From the inception of the investigation, GKN has fully cooperated with the District Attorney’s Office investigators.

After several months of investigation, which included onsite inspections, record review and expert consultation, OCDA has concluded its criminal investigation and is now proceeding with negotiations toward a civil disposition with GKN. In addition to the claims program of up to $100 million for evacuated residents and businesses, the District Attorney’s Office is in negotiations with GKN regarding additional reimbursement for expenses incurred by first responders and emergency services agencies who responded to the hazmat situation as well as civil penalties related to the May 2026 emergency.

The civil disposition would also require an enhanced comprehensive safety plan along with independent monitoring requirements which will require approval by a judge and be subject to enforcement by the Court.

“I promised the residents of Orange County that I would do everything in my power to make the tens of thousands of residents who were forced from their homes due to this emergency whole,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “The community has an absolute expectation that businesses operating within their neighborhoods operate safely and lawfully, and I am pleased that GKN has been and continues to be responsive to any and all requests throughout this investigation. Through these settlement discussions, we are doing what is necessary to protect the community going forward while recognizing the emotional and financial suffering inflicted on families. This emergency showcased the best that Orange County has to offer in crisis management and it is through the leadership of the Orange County Fire Authority, the Garden Grove Police Department, and Supervisor Janet Nguyen who all worked tirelessly to protect lives that we are at a point now where we can focus on compensating all of those affected and look to the future of safe operations.”

As an aerospace and defense company, GKN performs a critical role in manufacturing cockpits for military aircraft. In light of the important work GKN performs for the economy and the nation, the District Attorney supports the company’s target September 28 resumption of manufacturing operations, contingent upon full compliance with required safety standards, ongoing monitoring protocols, any regulatory obligations and a court-approved safety plan.

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