Longview, United States. A chemical tank imploded and ruptured at a Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility in Washington state on Tuesday, leaving one person dead, nine injured and nine others unaccounted for, authorities said.
Tank rupture
A joint written statement from Nippon and the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Department said a tank containing “white liquor,” a chemical solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide used in making paper pulp, ruptured at about 7:15 a.m. local time (1415 GMT).
Officials initially said the tank held about 80,000 gallons (302,830 litres), but later said it contained closer to 900,000 gallons of white liquor, with an estimated 90,000 gallons still inside the damaged tank.
Recovery efforts
Longview Fire Department Battalion Chief Matt Amos said recovery efforts would resume on Wednesday at the site in Longview, in Cowlitz County, about 45 miles (72 km) north of Portland, Oregon, because the tank remained unstable.
The injured included eight employees and one firefighter, Amos said. The firefighter was treated and released. Authorities had earlier said multiple patients suffered chemical burns.
Officials said in the evening that the implosion posed “no direct threat to the surrounding community.”
Hospital response
PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center in Longview told ABC News earlier in the day that six of the patients were in fair condition.
Washington state Governor Bob Ferguson said at a media briefing: “It’s difficult always to find the words at a time like this … Our thoughts and our prayers are with everybody impacted by this tragedy.”
Company background
Nippon Paper Industries, Japan’s second-biggest paper manufacturer by sales, acquired the Longview plant from Seattle-based timber company Weyerhaeuser for $225 million and established the wholly owned subsidiary Nippon Dynawave Packaging in 2016.
