Death toll reaches 11 in Washington chemical tank implosion; all missing workers recovered
Authorities in Washington state said Saturday they recovered the bodies of all nine missing workers from a chemical tank implosion at a Nippon Dynawave Packaging plant in Longview, raising the death toll to 11. The tank, containing about 900,000 gallons of white liquor, ruptured during an early morning shift change on Tuesday. Fire Chief Brad Hannig confirmed the recovery of the final missing employee in a news conference.
Authorities in Washington state said Saturday they recovered the bodies of all nine missing workers from a chemical tank implosion at a Nippon Dynawave Packaging plant in Longview, raising the death toll to 11.
Two fatalities had been confirmed earlier in the week after the tank, containing about 900,000 gallons (3.4 million liters) of white liquor, ruptured during an early morning shift change on Tuesday. White liquor is a solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide used in paper pulp production.
"We have recovered the ninth and final missing employee of this incident," Brad Hannig, fire chief of the Longview Fire Department, said in a news conference.
The search involved drones and debris clearance, said Kurt Stitch, deputy chief of the Cowlitz 2 fire and rescue department.
Tests confirmed contamination entered the nearby Columbia River, officials said. They also said no negative health impacts had been detected on air quality or Longview's drinking water.
Nippon Dynawave Packaging is a subsidiary of Japan's Nippon Paper Group. Nippon Paper Industries acquired the Longview plant from Seattle-based Weyerhaeuser for $225 million and established the wholly owned subsidiary in 2016.