At Least 1 Dead, 9 Still Missing After Chemical Tank Implosion at Longview Paper Mill

At least one worker has died, and nine others remain unaccounted for after a chemical tank ruptured at a pulp and paper mill in Longview, Washington, on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.

The incident occurred around 7:15 a.m. at Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co., when a tank containing white liquor, a solution used to process wood chips into pulp, imploded. The tank, which had a capacity of approximately 900,000 gallons, buckled and collapsed, releasing most of its contents across the facility.

Eight plant employees and one firefighter were injured, with conditions ranging from minor to critical. Some suffered burn injuries or inhalation injuries from exposure to the white liquor. According to NBC News, PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center in Longview reported that it received nine patients from the scene, including one who did not survive.

Missing Workers Not Expected to Be Found Alive

By Tuesday evening, officials confirmed that the nine employees who remain unaccounted for are presumed dead. Longview Fire Battalion Chief Matt Amos told reporters that recovery efforts would resume Wednesday after being suspended overnight due to hazardous conditions at the site. As of Wednesday, May 27, an estimated 90,000 gallons of white liquor remained inside the damaged tank, which fire officials described as unstable and at risk of further collapse.

Washington Governor Bob Ferguson visited Longview and announced that members of the Washington National Guard would assist with search and recovery efforts and air quality monitoring. Officials stressed that there is currently no threat to the larger community.

The Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers, the union representing employees at the facility, said in a statement that its focus was “on affected workers, their families, emergency responders, and everyone impacted by this tragedy.”

What Is White Liquor?

White liquor is a highly alkaline chemical solution used in the Kraft pulping process, the most common method for converting wood chips into usable paper pulp. It is primarily composed of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide, both of which are highly caustic. In a Kraft mill, white liquor is introduced into a digester where it breaks down the lignin that binds wood fibers together, separating them into the pulp that eventually becomes paper, packaging board, tissue, and other products.

Because of its corrosive properties, white liquor can cause severe chemical burns on contact with skin and serious respiratory damage if inhaled. It is typically stored in large tanks on-site and cycled through a recovery process within the mill. The Nippon Dynawave facility in Longview operates as a Kraft mill, and the ruptured tank was part of this chemical recovery system.

Nippon Dynawave’s History of Health & Safety Violations

Nippon Dynawave Packaging is a subsidiary of Japan-based Nippon Paper Group. The Longview facility has been in operation since 1953 and employs roughly 1,000 people, producing Kraft pulp, liquid packaging board, and other paper products.

Since the start of 2021, Nippon Dynawave has been fined a total of $3,400 by the Washington Department of Labor and Industries for three separate health and safety violations.

In one inspection, the company was cited for failing to ensure that face coverings were worn by all employees when required. In another, an inspector found that a worker had been exposed to a fall hazard while on a platform more than four feet off the ground without fall protection. A third citation involved an incident in which a worker's finger was amputated; investigators determined that the equipment involved had been moved from its original position before the state completed its investigation.

More recently, safety complaints were filed against the facility on March 4 and May 6 of this year. The first complaint was submitted anonymously and concerned a valve on an aqua ammonia clarifier tank. This was not the tank involved in the May 26^th incident.

The more recent complaint involved a sinkhole caused by a failed drain. The Department of Labor and Industries stated that both complaints remain open but are unrelated to the tank that imploded on Tuesday.

The cause of the implosion has not been determined.

At Arnold & Itkin, our thoughts are with the workers and families affected by this tragedy, as well as the first responders and the Longview community during this incredibly difficult time. Our firm fights on behalf of workers and families harmed by industrial accidents, chemical spills, and other major disasters on and near worksites nationwide. We fight tirelessly for justice and accountability from companies whose negligence causes unspeakable harm.