11 Workers Killed After Chemical Tank Implodes At Washington Paper Mill

Developing story · Last updated June 1, 2026. This article was first published May 27, 2026, while nine workers were still missing. The bodies of all nine were subsequently recovered. 411 Press updates this coverage as the investigation develops.

Eleven workers are dead after a 900,000-gallon chemical tank imploded Tuesday morning at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging mill in Longview, Washington. Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson called it the deadliest industrial accident in modern state history. The last large-scale workplace fatality event in the state of comparable scale was a 1930 mining disaster.

The rupture happened at about 7:19 a.m. on May 26. The tank held white liquor, a sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide mixture used in the kraft pulping process. According to officials, it was roughly two-thirds full when it failed.

Two workers were pronounced dead at area hospitals shortly after the implosion. Nine workers were transported to hospitals, including four to the Legacy Oregon Burn Center across the Columbia River in Portland. One of those four died of his injuries. Another patient died at PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center in Longview. Nine more workers were initially missing inside the structure; recovery crews recovered six bodies from a workers' gathering area Thursday, a seventh Friday, and the final two over the following days. All 11 victims have been identified by the Cowlitz County Coroner's Office.

Cowlitz Fire and Rescue Chief Scott Goldstein confirmed the early fatalities at an afternoon briefing the day of the rupture and pushed back on the terminology being used to describe the event.

"This was a blast. We've used the word explosion. We've used the word implosion. I've used the word failure. Indeed, there was a rupture, a failure, a blast," Goldstein told reporters. "All of those to us mean the same. It's not why it happened. It's the damage that we observe."

What failed

White liquor is highly corrosive. A tank that size, holding that volume, doesn't just fail — something gave way. Approximately 25,000 gallons remained inside the damaged tank after the rupture; the release itself was estimated at up to 570,000 gallons, the Washington Department of Ecology said. The chemical entered the surrounding area and reached the Columbia River, and officials began continuous pH monitoring at the Reynolds pumping station to dilute contaminated water before it discharged. Testing continues.

The Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility employs roughly 1,000 people. It produces material for tissue, printing paper, cups, plates, and cartons. The plant is owned by Japan-based Nippon Paper Industries, which acquired the Longview operation from Weyerhaeuser years ago.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency dispatched on-scene coordinators. Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson activated the state emergency operations center. The Longview Fire Department and Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue led the response.

OSHA opens investigation

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration confirmed it is investigating. The agency has up to six months to issue findings. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) has not announced whether it will deploy its own team, but a release of this size at a facility this large typically draws a CSB inquiry.

The plant has been inspected by OSHA before. The fatality data is searchable in the agency's public records.

What workers are saying

The mill is represented by the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers. Workers on the morning shift were inside the building when the tank gave way. Six of the recovered bodies were found in a workers' gathering area where employees would meet before and after their shifts.

The plant is currently shut down. No timeline has been set for resuming operations.

The cause has not been released. We'll publish more as we find out.