Overview
- A large storage tank at Nippon Dynawave in Longview ruptured early Tuesday, collapsing and releasing a corrosive mix called white liquor that caused deaths, serious injuries, and an ongoing search for unrecovered workers.
- Authorities have confirmed multiple fatalities and say nine workers remain unrecovered as recovery resumed only after crews stabilized parts of the tank and limited work to daylight hours.
- Officials revised the tank’s size to about 900,000 gallons and now estimate a far smaller volume remains inside the damaged vessel, with hundreds of thousands of gallons believed to have been released.
- State and federal hazmat teams, the Washington National Guard, and local hospitals are treating injured workers and monitoring the Columbia River for contamination while officials report no current threat to Longview’s drinking water or air.
- Investigators from labor, ecology and federal agencies are probing the cause; records show prior safety complaints and small fines at the plant that will be reviewed as part of the inquiry and expected regulatory scrutiny.