Overview
- A storage tank at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. facility in Longview ruptured in an implosion on Tuesday, immediately killing one worker and leaving nine others unaccounted for.
- At least nine other people were treated for injuries ranging from chemical burns to inhalation harm, and a responding firefighter was among those injured.
- The tank held a caustic industrial mix called white liquor, a solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide used in kraft pulping, which complicates rescue and cleanup because it causes severe burns and cannot be treated like an oil spill.
- Officials halted night operations and shifted to a daylight, controlled recovery while crews work to stabilize the collapsed tank; Washington Department of Ecology teams and National Guard/Homeland Response hazmat specialists have been deployed and an investigation has opened.
- The mill employs about 1,000 local workers and the accident has left families and the Longview community reeling as authorities investigate tank capacity, remaining chemical volume and whether prior inspections or maintenance played a role.