Authorities have recovered the bodies of all 11 victims killed when a large chemical tank ruptured at a paper mill.
The tank, which held approximately 900,000 gallons of “white liquor” a caustic mixture of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide used in pulp production, failed catastrophically at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility shortly before 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
The rupture released hundreds of thousands of gallons of the corrosive chemical across parts of the site.
Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue Deputy Chief Kurt Stitch said recovery crews worked methodically through debris in indoor areas of the damaged facility and used drones to search the perimeter.
The effort continued for several days under hazardous conditions posed by remaining chemicals and structural instability.
Cowlitz County Coroner Dana Tucker confirmed the identities of the 11 victims on Saturday. They were Gilbert Bernal, 52; Tyler Covington, 29; Brad Covington, 27; Robert Wilson, 48; Dale Miller, 54; Jared Ammons, 35; Braydon Finkas, 38; Clinton Doran, 26; John Forsberg, 51; Norman Barlow, 58; and Dillon Miller.
At least eight other workers were injured, some with burns and inhalation injuries. Two of the fatalities were confirmed in the initial hours after the incident, with the remaining nine initially listed as missing.
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Tests confirmed that some of the released white liquor reached the nearby Columbia River. Officials have stated that monitoring has shown no negative impacts on air quality or the drinking water supply for the city of Longview.
Nippon Dynawave Packaging, a subsidiary of Japan’s Nippon Paper Industries, owns the Longview mill. The company acquired the facility from Weyerhaeuser in 2016 for $225 million. The plant produces liquid packaging board and employs roughly 1,000 people.
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board and federal workplace safety regulators are expected to investigate the cause of the tank failure. Questions have been raised about the tank’s maintenance history and structural integrity, though no findings have been released.
The incident is one of the deadliest industrial accidents in Washington state in decades. Local officials described it as a significant loss for the tight-knit community.
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Flags flew at half-staff in Longview, and fundraisers have been organized to support the victims’ families.
Operations at the mill have been halted. Recovery teams had to account for the remaining chemical product, estimated at up to 90,000 gallons, inside the compromised tank structure in the days immediately after the rupture.
White liquor is a standard, highly corrosive process chemical used in kraft pulping. Large-scale storage of such substances requires strict engineering controls, regular inspections, and robust containment systems in accordance with federal and state regulations.
No official comment on potential liability or preventive measures has been issued by Nippon Dynawave Packaging as of Saturday evening. The company has cooperated with emergency responders during the search-and-recovery phase.
