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 recent decades — alongside a series of blasts that killed 16 people at an explosives plant in Tennessee last fall; a fire and detonation that killed 14 people at a fertilizer plant in Texas in 2013; the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion that killed 11 people in 2010; and an explosion at a West Virginia coal mine that killed 29 people in 2010.
New video from the scene showed some of the destruction in the aftermath.
The video begins showing a devastated parking lot, with several vehicles crushed by debris or flipped. In the background, a massive white tank is tilted to the side like a soda can that had been dropped.
The implosion caused the huge circular tank to buckle and collapse on one side, and officials said they would only work during daylight because of the dangers associated with the plant.
The main hazards both stem from the crushed tank. The structure itself remains unstable, creating hazardous conditions and hindering recovery efforts.
But the main hazard first responders are confronting is a toxic chemical mixture now spread throughout the plant.
Authorities originally thought the tank had contained 900,000 gallons of white liquor, a highly corrosive chemical used to break down wood chips into pulp, but now believe it was closer to 600,000 gallons.
Officials initially estimated about 90,000 gallons remained inside the tank, but Goldstein said Wednesday that crews had determined about 25,000 gallons were left.
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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 into pulp.
White liquor is one of the three main chemical solutions used in this paper-making process. It’s a highly alkaline solution, similar to bleach, that will cause severe chemical burns if it comes into contact with skin. Unlike acid, which directly breaks the bonds between molecules, alkaline solutions alter the molecules in organic materials to make them dissolve in water.
Ultimately this compound is extremely dangerous. The chemical solution is so hot and caustic that it will almost immediately cause second and third-degree burns upon contact with skin. Vapors released by white liquor are also flammable, and can cause damage to the eyes, lungs and throat if inhaled.
Water testing confirmed contamination from the white liquor entered the Columbia River, Goldstein said. Officials were still working to determine the extent of that contamination.
The Washington state Department of Ecology is developing a plan to remove contaminants, Gov. Bob Ferguson said. He said about a dozen dead carp had been removed from a dike near the site.
Environmental monitoring remains in place, with fixed and portable systems testing air and water, officials said. Goldstein said there were no negative impacts to air quality or Longview’s water supply as of Wednesday.
