A tragic incident at a Washington state paper mill has led to a second confirmed fatality, authorities reported on Wednesday. This brings the presumed death toll to 11, including nine individuals who remain unaccounted for. The disaster unfolded when a large chemical tank ruptured at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. in Longview, leaving eight others injured, among them a firefighter.
Efforts to locate the missing individuals were set to resume on Wednesday. However, the search had faced delays due to the potential risk of further collapse of the compromised tank. The tank contained a highly corrosive substance known as white liquor, pivotal in the paper manufacturing process. Due to the precarious conditions, search operations were confined to daylight hours.
Despite the rupture, officials assured that the safety of Longview’s air and drinking water remained unaffected. They urged the city’s 40,000 residents, who reside in a community deeply rooted in the paper and lumber industries, to steer clear of nearby ditches and dikes as a precautionary measure.
This incident follows closely on the heels of another chemical-related emergency on the West Coast. Recently, thousands of Southern California residents were evacuated due to an overheated tank at an aerospace facility, though evacuation orders were lifted by Tuesday night.
It was the second notable issue with a chemical in days on the West Coast, following the evacuation of thousands of Southern California residents due to an overheated tank an aerospace plant before those orders were lifted Tuesday night.
The paper mill tank was holding about 900,000 gallons (3.4 million liters) of a liquid made of mostly 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.
Paper mill worker was always there to help, friend says
Authorities haven’t released the names of the two people whose deaths were confirmed or of those missing, but some names have begun to trickle out.
Todd Cornwell said his friend, Gilbert Bernal, was an electrician at the plant and was the first confirmed death. They knew each other through church and were in the same Bible study group, he said.
“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 first wondered if it was drill. He was able to get out safely and didn’t 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 remained unaccounted for. She said 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.”
The cause of the rupture remained unclear.
Authorities press for answers about the rupture
Nippon Paper Group in a statement said Wednesday that it was offering 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 who were 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.
The mill faced complaints and fines
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 U.S., according to a paper released by a network of environmental justice organizations in late 2023.
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