Crews in Longview, Washington, were set to resume searching Wednesday for nine workers missing after a tank implosion at a Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. paper mill. The incident released a highly destructive chemical mixture known as “white liquor,” causing at least one confirmed death. Authorities stated there was no hope of finding more survivors from Tuesday’s implosion, which also injured nine other people, including a responding firefighter.
Stabilization Efforts Underway
Before any bodies can be recovered, crews must first stabilize the tank, which remains at risk of collapsing further and leaking more caustic liquid. The implosion caused the huge circular tank to buckle and collapse on one side. Officials said they would only work during daylight due to the dangers. While the cause remains unknown, authorities emphasized there was no threat to the community, a Columbia River city of about 40,000 people with long ties to the Washington and Oregon paper and lumber industries.
Second Major Chemical Incident on West Coast
This incident marked the second notable chemical tank failure in days on the West Coast, following the evacuation of thousands of Southern California residents due to a damaged tank at an aerospace plant before those orders were lifted Tuesday night. The paper mill tank held about 900,000 gallons (3.4 million liters) of a liquid made mostly of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide. Known as white liquor, it is used with heat to break down wood to make kraft paper, a durable material used in packaging, shopping bags, and other products. The sprawling plant, which employs about 1,000 people, makes material for tissues, printing paper, cups, plates, and cartons. It sits along the river next to other timber, paper, and chemical businesses.
Victims and Community Response
Authorities have not released the names of the person whose death was confirmed or those missing, but some names have begun to emerge. Todd Cornwell said his friend, Gilbert Bernal, an electrician at the plant, was the first confirmed death. They knew each other through church and were in the same Bible study group. “We actually had our group last night and instead of doing Bible study, we talked about him,” Cornwell said. “He was always there willing to help in whatever needed to be done. When the local church school started flooding, he was one of the people there.”
Brian Williquette, a chemical supplier for the region’s mills, was at the plant Tuesday morning when he heard an alarm over the intercom and initially wondered if it was a drill. He was able to get out safely and did not see any of the damage. “It’s just unfathomable,” he said at a community vigil Tuesday. “There’s not anybody that lives here that doesn’t know somebody at a paper mill.” Crystal Moldenhauer, a Longview resident, said she has friends at the plant who remain unaccounted for. She noted that people called and texted each other all day trying to figure out what happened. “We’re all still waiting for answers,” she said. “There’s families that have been torn apart, and we don’t know why.”
Cause and Investigation
The cause of the implosion remained unclear. Nippon Paper Group in a statement Wednesday offered its “deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved families.” Scott Goldstein, a fire chief with Cowlitz County, said Tuesday night that the tank still held about 90,000 gallons (more than 340,000 liters) of the volatile liquid. “We don’t know until we know, hopefully tomorrow, how we can stabilize the tank. Do we remove the product first? Do we stabilize the tank first or the vice versa?” Goldstein said. Hours after the disaster, officials repeatedly referred to the situation as a recovery effort. Some of those injured suffered burns or inhalation injuries, authorities said. Following the tank’s rupture, the liquid spilled into a drainage ditch, said Brittny Goodsell, a state Ecology Department spokesperson. “I know there’s a lot of questions about how all of this happened and I want to assure you that we will all continue to pressure to get answers to those questions,” Murray said.
Safety History
The mill faced complaints and fines in the past. Safety complaints were filed against Nippon Dynawave in March and May. The state’s labor and industries department said on X that both were unrelated to the current situation. One was an anonymous complaint about a valve on a tank, according to the department, which noted that it was not the tank that imploded. Nippon Dynawave, a subsidiary of Japan-based Nippon Paper Group, has been fined $3,400 for three separate health and safety violations found by Washington Department of Labor and Industries inspectors since the start of 2021, according to the department’s online database. Just over 40 people died between January 2021 and mid-October 2023 as a result of hazardous chemical incidents in the US, according to a paper released by a network of environmental justice organizations in late 2023.
