Key Takeaways
• A chemical tank containing highly caustic white liquor collapsed at Nippon Dynawave Packaging’s Longview, WA, paper mill on May 26, killing 11 people and injuring eight others.
• The cause of the tank failure remains under investigation while the company assesses impacts on production, shipments and the surrounding environment near the Columbia River.
An explosion and chemical tank failure at a Washington state paper mill has left 11 dead and eight others injured, according to reports.
The accident happened on May 26 at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging mill in Longview, WA. The company confirmed in a statement that at approximately 7 a.m. local time, a chemical tank collapsed. Reports from The Seattle Times say that the 900,000-gallon-capacity tank contained white liquor, which is a highly caustic chemical mixture containing mostly sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfite, used to soften wood chips and dissolve lignin to extract cellulose fibers for the paper pulp. The facility primarily makes materials for paper cups, paper cartons and “other paperboard products,” according to The Seattle Times.
In a May 30 statement, Nippon Paper Group said it’s still assessing the impact of the accident on production, shipment status and the local ecological environment, with the facility located along the Columbia River at the Washington and Oregon border.
The Seattle Times also reported that Nippon Paper Group, based in Japan, originally purchased its Longview facility in an effort to keep up with global paper packaging materials as environmental regulations and environmental consciousness adapted to the times, and to compensate for lessening demand for other traditional print products like newsprint.
The reason for the tank failure is still unclear, as the company reported that as of May 30 it’s still under investigation.
“We express our deepest condolences and offer our heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved families,” Nippon Dynawave Packaging said in its May 30 statement. “We also sincerely apologize for the immense concern and inconvenience this has caused to the local community, our business partners and all related parties.”
