A catastrophic chemical tank rupture at Longview’s Nippon Dynawave Packaging mill caused in a 1-death, 9-injuries, and 9-missing persons, prompting large-scale rescue and environmental efforts amid ongoing investigations.
LONGVIEW — One person was killed, 9- were injured and 9-others stays missing after a huge industrial incident Tuesday morning at a pulp and paper mill in this Southwest Washington city.
The rupture of a chemical tank was reported around 7:20 a.m. On the Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility in Longview, as per the city’s Fire Department. 8-employees and a firefighter were injured; it’s unclear if the person who died was an employee. All 9 of the people who stayed unaccounted for late Tuesday work at the mill.
The purpose of the implosion was not clear Tuesday evening, as recovery efforts stayed ongoing. Emergency crews were assessing the structural integrity of the damaged tank and operating to stabilize it before recovery operations can safely persist, stated Chief Scott Goldstein of Cowlitz 2 Fire and Rescue.
Although he could not provide many specifics on further recovery efforts, Goldstein stated there’s a concern about additional leakage from the tanks due to it is caustic.
Joined via local emergency response officers, Gov. Bob Ferguson, Sen. Patty Murray, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and other state elected officers spoke in front of the facility.
With disasters ups of this magnitude, it’s tough always to find the phrases in times like this,” stated Ferguson on the evening news conference.
“On behalf of the people of the state of Washington, I want you to realize that we stand with you, we will be right here to do anything we can to help with the situation, and we’ll be here as long as it takes,” Ferguson told the people of Longview. “We also deeply respect the first responders.”
Numerous state agencies have been mobilized, together with the Washington National Guard Civil Support Team and Department of Ecology. Ferguson stated he has directed the National Guard to help with search and healing in a contaminated environment, and to support with decontamination.
Once first responders end their efforts, the state Department of Labor and Industries will start an investigation.
Those hurt had injuries starting from minor to critical, Goldstein stated. The firefighter has since been released from the hospital. The injured had been taken by ambulance to hospitals in Longview and south to Vancouver.
Emergency responders persisted monitoring the site Tuesday evening but could not resume their efforts till Wednesday due to safety issues.
There are no wider health threats from the implosion, stated Washington State Department of Ecology spokesperson Anna Izenman. But spill responders are monitoring for affected wildlife.
The pulp and paper mill workers around 550 workers, manufactures about 280,000 tons of product each year, as per Ecology. The site’s liquid packaging plant has approximately 450 workers.
The mill has a long history of environmental and different violations with both federal and state regulators, though the resulting fines have been comparatively minor.
‘An absolute tragedy’
Spill responders deployed to the paper mill, in which the tank launched a substance known as white liquor into the storm drain system, which links to the diking system, Izenman stated. The diking system’s pumps, which discharge to the Columbia River, were shut off.
White liquor is a mixture of heavily caustic chemicals that, when heated, smash down wood so pulp can be extracted.
The tank that ruptured containing the white liquor held about 900,000 gallons, the city of Longview stated Thursday evening. Officials had earlier evaluated the tank contained 80,000 gallons. About 90,000 gallons may still be inside the damaged tank.
White liquor can’t be contained and accrued like oil, Izenman stated. It can only “self-neutralize” with water over time.
The implosion needed a big response from fire-and-rescue corporations and managing with hospitals as the number of reported patients climbed, as per to 911 calls and dispatch records.
One employee called to 911 and reported multiple people in the plant had chemical burns or were missing. The workers with burns were still at the implosion site, the 911 caller stated, and he couldn’t say for sure if everyone was safe and out of danger, as per the 911 audio received via The Seattle Times.
“We want rescue units, fire department, everyone,” he informed a 911 dispatcher.
911 dispatchers also fielded calls from family of workers, announcing their loved ones worked on the plant but they couldn’t get in touch with them.
Murray, D-Wash., had tours planned all through Southwest Washington on Tuesday however canceled the open press events out of respect for those affected, her office stated.
“Today’s implosion was an absolute tragedy, the lawmaker stated in a announcement.
Checkered history at major industrial site
The site has a long listing of environmental violations, complaints and protection citations, which include a longstanding and “significant ” inability to abide contaminant regulations, occasionally exceeding its limits by around 800%, federal records show.
In 2017, about 4,000 to 5,000 gallons of sulfuric acid spilled on the Nippon Dynawave plant, local officers stated at the time, as per the past news reports. The spill was quickly contained and no one was injured.
The company called 911 to report the incident, which was caught via a containment moat, Nippon Dynawave stated on the time.
Over the last 5 years, officers with the Environmental Protection Agency informally noted Nippon Dynawave Packaging for at the least 19 air and water violations. Conditions were so horrific that the agency resorted to more formal citations at least 5 times.
For all these informal and formal violations, the mill has been fined a total of $16,000, EPA records show. So far the agency has gathered $10,000 of that.
Federal officials have also stated the mill for violations including the improper operation and preservation of equipment’s, industrial spills, failure to conduct inspections and more. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has referred to the facility for 2 separate violations over the last 5-years, certainly one of which garnered a $700 fine.
Not to mention, Washington’s Department of Ecology fined the company twice in 2024 for wastewater and air pollutants violations. The penalties totaled $6,500.
Japan-based Nippon Paper Industries bought the liquid packaging mill in 2016 from Weyerhaeuser Co., a Seattle-based timberland company, for $285 million.
Seattle Times staffs reporter Lulu Ramadan and news researcher Miyoko Wolf contributed to this story.
