The implosion of a chemical tank at a pulp and paper mill in southwestern Washington state on Tuesday injured at least 10 people, while an undisclosed number of others had been killed or remained missing, authorities said.
In a joint statement, Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. and local first response agencies confirmed there had been fatalities.
Cowlitz Fire and Rescue Chief Scott Goldstein later told a news conference that it was unclear how many workers had been killed. Asked how many remained missing, he replied: “We have information on that, but we’re not releasing that information.”
Among those injured was a responding firefighter. Authorities said some victims had suffered burns or inhalation injuries, and that the severity of the injuries ranged from minor to critical. There was no immediate threat to the public, they said.
The statement, issued more than four hours after the tank imploded at 7:15 a.m., said crews were continuing recovery operations and that no identifying information would be released about victims pending notification of relatives.
Some people waited at the company’s visitor entrance on Tuesday, seeking information about loved ones who worked at the facility. They declined to comment to an Associated Press reporter.
The Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. facility is a pulp and paper mill and liquid packaging plant along the Columbia River. It makes material for tissues, printing paper, cups, plates, cartons and other goods. It employs about 1,000 people, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology.
The 80,000-gallon (303,000-liter) tank that imploded was about 60% full, Goldstein said. It contained a chemical brew known as “white liquor,” a corrosive substance that consists mainly of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide and is used to break down wood to make kraft paper, a durable paper used in packaging, shopping bags and other products.
It was too early to determine the cause of the implosion, Goldstein said
Western Washington and Oregon are full of these antiquated paper mills. Lots of local political favors and influence wrapped up with misplaced blue collar allegiance, leading to precarious industrial situations. Some of them have seen marginal safety improvements but just about all of them are ticking time bombs for incidents like this. And I can’t imagine what impact that amount of white liquor will have on the surrounding ecosystem in Longview (Which is right on the Columbia River, basically the start of the ocean-facing estuary). Our government says it wants to bring manufacturing back to the US but I don’t think our system of government can continually handle the sort of safety management and regulation required of contemporary industrial operations.