Eleven feared dead in Washington state chemical vat rupture, operation moves to recovery effort (updated)

Weyerhaeuser

27/05/2026 22:05

        *    Governor braces for 'deadliest industrial tragedy in
modern Washington state history'     

        *    Chemical spill contaminates Columbia River, no impact
on air or drinking water per authorities     

        *    Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility is site of incident,
cause of rupture unknown     

  
 (Updates to lead with 11 people presumed dead in the incident;
Updates headline)
    By Ismail Shakil and Daphne Psaledakis
       May 27 (Reuters) - The search for nine people missing
after a chemical tank imploded and ruptured a day earlier in
Washington state has moved from a rescue to a recovery effort,
authorities said on Wednesday, likely bringing the total death
toll to 11.
     Officials had previously confirmed two fatalities. At least
eight other people were injured, some critically. 
  
    "We're bracing ourselves for this being the deadliest
industrial tragedy in modern Washington state history,"
Washington Governor Bob Ferguson said at a news conference with
local authorities on Wednesday. 
  
    Authorities said they don't yet know what caused a 900,000
gallon vat at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility to implode
early Tuesday. The container held "white liquor" - a chemical
solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide used in making
paper pulp that can cause severe burns on skin.
  
     Longview Fire Department Battalion Chief Matt Amos said at
the news conference that the recovery effort would proceed
slowly in the "extremely hazardous" environment. 
  
     It was unclear where exactly the nine missing people were
in the facility, Cowlitz 2 Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said,
adding that they had searched the area that was searchable. 
  
    "As of this morning, we declared this incident a transition
from rescue to recovery," he said.
  
    Authorities at the press conference said that testing
confirmed that contamination entered the Columbia River.
    "Testing of water samples has confirmed contamination
entered the Columbia River during the day yesterday. Additional
evaluations are underway to better understand the scope and
extent of that environmental impact," Goldstein said. "At this
time, there ... continue to be no identified negative health
impacts to ... the surrounding air quality or the city of
Longview's drinking water system."
Goldstein said it was fair to say roughly 550,000-570,000
gallons left the tank, while some material remains in the tank
and is continuing to slowly leak.
Officials advised people to stay away from parts of the area and
said that about a dozen carp had died.
Nippon Paper Industries 3863.T, Japan’s second-biggest paper
manufacturer by sales, acquired the Longview plant from
Seattle-based timber company Weyerhaeuser WY.N for $225 million
and established the wholly-owned subsidiary Nippon Dynawave
Packaging in 2016.
    In southern California, meanwhile, authorities who had been
monitoring an overheating industrial tank containing highly
flammable methyl methacrylate said late Tuesday that the GKN
Aerospace facility in Garden Grove no longer posed a risk of
explosion. Thousands of people had been ordered to evacuate
their homes in the area on Thursday after the chemical in the
tank was found to be overheating.
    "After an extensive operation we're happy to report that all
evacuation orders have been lifted and residents have started to
return home," TJ McGovern, interim chief of the Orange County
Fire Authority, said on Tuesday.
  
     

 (Reporting by Ismail Shakil, Daphne Psaledakis and Brad Brooks;
Editing by Caitlin Webber and Donna Bryson)
 ((Daphne.Psaledakis@thomsonreuters.com))