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Tank rupture in Longview
A chemical tank rupture at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging plant in Longview, Washington, killed at least two people and left nine others “unrecovered,” after a tank holding more than half a million gallons of a corrosive substance known as white liquor erupted Tuesday morning.
“Confirmed death toll rises to 2 from chemical tank blast in southwest Washington”
The Longview Fire Department said a person transported from the scene for medical care after the tank burst died from their injuries, and officials said they did not expect to find survivors as recovery shifted to recovery operations.
Officials said the tank ruptured and spilled into the Columbia River and a local diking system, with Nippon Dynawave finding “spikes of high pH material” from the plant into the river in the aftermath of the rupture.
Washington Governor Bob Ferguson said, “We’re bracing ourselves for this being the deadliest industrial tragedy in modern Washington state history,” as seven other employees remained hospitalized with injuries.
Cowlitz 2 Fire and Rescue Chief Scott Goldstein said responders declared a transition from rescue to recovery as of Wednesday morning, while authorities said they did not know the locations of all nine missing individuals within the mill.
Recovery delayed, no survivors
Recovery crews continued searching for nine people who went missing when the tank ruptured on Tuesday, and officials said two people were now known to have died while seven others were injured.
Matt Amos, battalion chief of the Longview Fire Department, said the accident scene "still remains active, and its extremely hazardous in the recovery environment" as operations resumed early on Wednesday morning after being suspended overnight.
Officials said the tank ruptured, spilling hundreds of thousands of gallons of white liquor, and they said about 25,000 gallons remain inside the tank while the chemical is still slowly leaking out.
Cowlitz Fire and Rescue Chief Scott Goldstein said authorities "do not know where all nine are," and he added that it was still too dangerous to venture into certain parts of the facility.
The Washington Department of Ecology said nine individuals previously described as missing "remain unrecovered" as of Wednesday, while authorities said all individuals "will undergo decontamination" before being transported to the Cowlitz County coroner's office for identification and family notification.
Environmental and investigative stakes
Officials said a large volume of contaminants entered the Columbia River, but local drinking water and air quality remained unaffected, and they urged people to stay away from ditches and dikes around Longview until water testing was completed.
“spilled into the Columbia River”
Brittny Goodsell, a state Ecology Department spokesperson, said that after the tank’s rupture the liquid spilled into a drainage ditch, and sampling revealed contamination had entered the river on Tuesday.
The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) was set to arrive on scene Wednesday after the federal agency announced it was launching an investigation into the fatal implosion.
Brian Wood, the company’s director of support services, said the company would cooperate with investigators and looked forward to “a full and complete investigation,” adding, “These are our people.”
As the recovery continued, authorities said the scene remained extremely hazardous and that the tank’s unstable condition was creating hazardous conditions for emergency personnel, while the incident threatened the safety of responders and the process of identifying victims.