• 'This stuff can eat your skin’: Paper mill worker talks about dangers of the job
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    ‘This stuff can eat your skin’: Paper mill worker talks about dangers of the job

    May 30, 2026 - By 

    The implosion of a liquor storage tank at Nippon Dynawave mill, which killed several employees, raises urgent safety concerns as investigators continue to review. LONGVIEW, Wash. — The questions haunting investigators at the Nippon Dynawave paper mill are the same ones that trouble Mickie Dearing: How does a tank that big simply implode — and why didn’t anyone see it coming? Dearing spent three years at the Packaging Corporation of America plant in the Tri-Cities area of central Washington, about 250 miles upriver from the site of Tuesday’s deadly incident on the banks of the Columbia River. He performed the…

  • Nine confirmed dead, two missing as recovery operations continue at Longview paper mill site
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    Nine confirmed dead, two missing as recovery operations continue at Longview paper mill site

    May 30, 2026 - By 

    Recovery efforts continue after a deadly implosion at Nippon Dynawave paper mill left nine dead and two missing, with ongoing environmental impacts being monitored. LONGVIEW, Wash. — Fire officials say recovery operations continue into a fourth day following the ongoing hazardous incident after the deadly implosion at the Nippon Dynawave paper mill. The industrial accident happened around 7:15 a.m. Tuesday during a shift change, according to Scott Goldstein, fire chief for Cowlitz Fire and Rescue. The implosion damaged administrative offices, a break room, and operational areas inside the facility. Officials initially believed the tank contained about 900,000 gallons of white…

  • What we know: Families identify some victims of Longview paper mill implosion
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    What we know: Families identify some victims of Longview paper mill implosion

    May 30, 2026 - By 

    On Thursday, officials announced that eight workers are confirmed dead and three employees are still missing. LONGVIEW, Wash. — Family members are identifying some of the employees killed in Tuesday’s tank implosion at a Longview paper mill as officials continue to investigate the deadly incident. At the Nippon Dynawave facility, an approximately 600,000 gallon chemical tank storing white liquor — a mix of sodium hydroxide, sodium sulfide and disodium carbonate that is used in the papermaking process — imploded around 7:15 a.m., but officials are still working to determine why. This story continues below. On Thursday, officials…

  • What we know: Families identify some victims of Longview paper mill implosion
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    What we know: Families identify some victims of Longview paper mill implosion

    May 29, 2026 - By 

    Fire officials confirmed at least two people died in the implosion and nine employees remain missing as of Wednesday, May 27. LONGVIEW, Wash. — Family members are identifying some of the employees killed in Tuesday’s tank implosion at a Longview paper mill as officials continue to investigate the deadly incident. At the Nippon Dynawave facility, an approximately 600,000 gallon chemical tank storing white liquor — a mix of sodium hydroxide, sodium sulfide and disodium carbonate that is used in the papermaking process — imploded around 7:15 a.m., but officials are still working to determine why. This story…

  • Video shows devastation, crushed cars after deadly chemical tank implosion at Washington paper mill
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    Video shows devastation, crushed cars after deadly chemical tank implosion at Washington paper mill

    May 28, 2026 - By 

    New video shows the sheer amount of devastation after a tank holding corrosive white liquor imploded at a paper mill in Longview, Washington. WASHINGTON — New video is showing the aftermath of a deadly implosion at a Washington state paper mill that is presumed to have killed 11 people and injured another eight. Crews resumed the search Wednesday for nine workers at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. in Longview, although authorities have already said there is no hope of finding survivors. If the 11 deaths are confirmed, it would be one of the deadliest industrial accidents in the U.S. in…

  • Second death confirmed as recovery operations continue for 9 missing after Longview paper mill implosion
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    Second death confirmed as recovery operations continue for 9 missing after Longview paper mill implosion

    May 28, 2026 - By 

    Longview fire officials said recovery operations were initially delayed “due to safety concerns of the structural integrity of the damaged tank.” LONGVIEW, Wash. — A second person has died after a large tank containing corrosive white liquor imploded Tuesday at the Nippon Dynawave paper mill in Longview. The Longview Fire Department confirmed the second person died from injuries suffered in the incident after being transported to a hospital. Officials said recovery operations will begin Wednesday after being delayed because of concerns about the structural integrity of the damaged tank. This story continues below. As of Wednesday afternoon,…

  • What is white liquor, the caustic chemical involved in the Longview paper mill disaster?
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    What is white liquor, the caustic chemical involved in the Longview paper mill disaster?

    May 28, 2026 - By 

    The process of paper making involves several chemicals that can cause serious injuries if a person is exposed to them. LONGVIEW, Wash. — White liquor, a superheated chemical mixture used to break down wood into paper pulp, is at the center of the deadly tank implosion at the Nippon Dynawave paper mill in Longview. The facility employs a common process for making paper known as kraft milling. In kraft milling, wood chips are processed under high pressure and heat (anywhere from 300 to 330 degrees Fahrenheit) while being exposed to extremely caustic chemicals that cause the wood to break down…

  • U.S. Chemical Safety Board to investigate fatal tank implosion at Longview paper mill
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    U.S. Chemical Safety Board to investigate fatal tank implosion at Longview paper mill

    May 27, 2026 - By 

    The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board said a team of investigators would arrive at the paper mill Wednesday. The implosion involved white liquor, a highly corrosive chemical used in paper and pulp processing to dissolve wood chips into pulp. Officials said a 900,000-gallon tank storing the substance ruptured with 90,000 gallons of the chemical still inside. Previously, officials said the tank held only 80,000 gallons. This story continues below. “The CSB is opening an investigation into this tragic incident to determine how it happened and what can be done to prevent something like this from…

  • 'The most tragic thing that's happened in Longview': Vigil honors victims of paper mill implosion
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    ‘The most tragic thing that’s happened in Longview’: Vigil honors victims of paper mill implosion

    May 27, 2026 - By 

    At least one person was killed and nine more employees remain missing after a chemical tank ruptured on Tuesday morning at a paper and pulp mill in Longview. LONGVIEW, Wash. — Lonnie Koistinen says he was taught at a young age that men don’t show emotion, but at age 71, the lifelong Longview resident couldn’t help himself. Not after what happened at the Nippon Dynawave facility early Tuesday. “Men do cry sometimes when real tragic things happen,” he said after attending a vigil on Tuesday night to honor the victims. “I had a few tears at this vigil because it…