GKN Aerospace Ltd., the company behind the chemical tank scare in Southern California’s Orange County last week, faces multiple lawsuits on May 28 from residents who were forced out of their homes for days while first responders scrambled to contain the leak.

Attorney Shawn Steel, of the Steel & Eisner firm, filed a complaint on behalf of four clients but expects many more to come forward.

“This thing is going to definitely grow—it’s going to grow like mushrooms,” Steel told The Epoch Times. “There are more today to be added.”

More than 50,000 residents of homes surrounding the GKN Aerospace plant were evacuated after a chemical tank started overheating and venting vapor at the facility on May 21.

Health officials were concerned that people living in the surrounding area could be exposed to vapor from the methyl methacrylate inside the tank, which could cause severe respiratory problems if inhaled. But air monitors deployed in Garden Grove did not detect the chemical vapor, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Despite escaping any chemical injuries, several residents allegedly suffered in other ways, according to Steel and other attorneys filing lawsuits against the company this week.

“Everybody’s trying to put their lives back together,” Steel said.

Steel’s plaintiffs seek compensation for loss of use of their homes, evacuation expenses, emotional distress, fear, anxiety, property diminution and stigma damages, possible remediation costs, and other harms, he said.

His clients also fear the loss of value from their homes and businesses, loss of work, and medical costs. One of his clients had to go to the emergency room after suffering a panic attack during the event after she found out her parents had been evacuated, he said.

“Orange County has never seen anything like it,” Steel said. “It’s so inconceivable.”

The cost of damages is hard to calculate, Steel said, but “it will be calculated.”

Other plaintiffs have filed class-action lawsuits against the company, including from the law firm Win Injury and Accident Trial Lawyers. The firm couldn’t be reached for comment.

GKN Aerospace, a division of British aerospace supplier Melrose Industries, manufactures windows and canopies for commercial and military aircraft, and spacecraft, at the plant.

The company didn’t return a request for comment about the lawsuits.

People tend to their pets outside Freedom Hall, an evacuation center in Fountain Valley, Calif., on May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

The company released a statement on its website apologizing to the community about the situation on May 27.

“We understand that the past several days have been difficult for residents, businesses, and the broader Garden Grove, Stanton, and surrounding Orange County communities,” the company wrote. “We are relieved that the incident has been resolved and residents have been able to return home.

“On behalf of the team at GKN Aerospace, I want to say how sorry we are for the uncertainty and disruption this situation has caused,” said GKN Senior Vice President Steve Carlin, who oversees the Garden Grove site’s programs. “I recognize how challenging this has been, particularly over the Memorial Day holiday.”

Carlin said the company was committed to understanding what happened and finding ways to support the people affected.

The company’s specialists worked with fire officials, emergency responders, outside technical experts, and locals, state, and federal regulators during the event, according to GKN.

“Officials have reported that there was no chemical leak, no contamination, and there have been no reported injuries,” the company stated.

Jan De Jonge and fiancé Sher Stuckman set up a tent with their belonging and pet outside the Elks Lodge in Garden Grove, Calif., on May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

The facility opened in Garden Grove in 1966, before most of the housing was built around it. More than 500 skilled local employees work at the site, according to GKN.

Local authorities have launched an investigation into the company following last week’s chemical emergency.

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer’s office set up a hotline on May 26 for the public to report any information about the hazardous materials incident.

The information gathered is expected to assist law enforcement in investigating the origin of the event and identifying anyone responsible, according to Spitzer’s office.

Two evacuees sit in their pickup truck at a gas station within the evacuation zone in Stanton, Calif., on May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

“Given the very real risk to human life as a result of this event, it is crucial that anyone who has information about this incident or the industrial operations of GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, Inc. to come forward and report it so that it can be thoroughly investigated by law enforcement,” Spitzer said in a statement.

Spitzer announced the opening of a criminal investigation to include a probe into any price gouging as a result of the emergency.

The Orange County Fire Authority reported the safety zone around the involved tank had been reduced on May 28 to 150 feet after continued stabilization of conditions.