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White Liquor Tank Implodes at Nippon Dynawave Mill, Killing 2 in Washington

White Liquor Tank Implodes at Nippon Dynawave Mill, Killing 2 in Washington
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At least two workers were confirmed dead and nine others were still missing Wednesday after a vast tank of caustic “white liquor” chemicals failed at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging mill in Longview, Washington, in what officials warned could become the deadliest industrial disaster in modern state history pbs +1. The operation shifted from rescue to recovery as authorities said they no longer believed survivors would be found among the unrecovered workers apnews +1.

The 900,000‑gallon tank, reportedly about 60% full, ruptured or imploded just before 7:15 a.m. on Tuesday, May 26, sending hundreds of thousands of gallons of corrosive kraft pulping solution through the mill complex and into drainage channels that feed the Columbia River nbcnews +1. At least 8–10 people, including a firefighter, were injured and taken to hospitals with chemical burns and other trauma, while hazmat crews worked in protective gear amid unstable structures and residual chemicals apnews +1. Nippon Dynawave’s parent, Japan-based Nippon Paper Group, expressed “deepest condolences” and apologized to the Longview community as it began assessing damage to people, production and the environment seattletimes.

What Went Wrong — And What Investigators Are Looking At

The precise cause of the tank’s failure remained unknown, and officials cautioned it could take months for technical investigators to determine whether design flaws, corrosion, maintenance lapses or operating conditions triggered the implosion nbcnews +1. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) opened a formal investigation Wednesday and dispatched a team to the site, saying it would seek to understand “how it happened and what can be done to prevent something like this” kgw.

Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries also launched its own probe, drawing attention to the plant’s safety record. State records showed multiple prior workplace-safety citations since 2019 and at least two open inspections, including a recent anonymous complaint about an ammonia tank valve and a separate concern about a failed drain or sinkhole, though officials said those complaints did not directly involve the white-liquor tank katu. The Longview facility, acquired from Weyerhaeuser in 2016, is a major regional producer of premium paperboard and pulp, employing roughly 1,000 workers across operations seattletimes +1.

Emergency Response and Environmental Concerns

Fire officials described an extraordinarily hazardous scene, with corrosive chemicals damaging gear and complicating search efforts; recovery teams limited work to daylight hours and paused overnight while engineers evaluated the tank’s structural stability nbcnews +1. By Wednesday, Cowlitz 2 Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said the focus had shifted to stabilizing the site and bringing all workers home for “closure,” underscoring the grim outlook for those unaccounted for nbcnews. Governor Bob Ferguson deployed state resources and said Washington was “bracing” for what could be the state’s worst industrial tragedy in modern times pbs +1.

Environmental testing confirmed that some of the spilled white liquor reached the Columbia River via ditches and stormwater infrastructure, prompting concerns about aquatic life and downstream users nytimes. The Washington Department of Ecology reported no immediate impact on Longview’s municipal drinking water and no dangerous levels detected in ambient air, but warned residents to avoid contaminated ditches and low-lying areas until cleanup advanced nytimes. Officials said ongoing sampling would track the fate of the alkaline plume and guide remediation in coordination with federal agencies.

The Bigger Picture

The Longview disaster has raised urgent questions about the safety of massive industrial tanks widely used in pulp and paper, chemicals and other sectors, even as experts have stressed that catastrophic failures of this kind are rare bbc. As investigators sift through records and wreckage, worker families and the community are mourning and organizing vigils, while policymakers and regulators weigh whether stronger inspection regimes, engineering standards or emergency-planning requirements are needed to prevent similar tragedies elsewhere pbs +1.