GARDEN GROVE — A chemical tank containing white liquor imploded at Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co in Longview, Washington, on 26 May, triggering an explosion that killed at least nine people and left two workers missing. The tank held a caustic alkaline solution, some of which spilled into a nearby drainage ditch following the rupture.
The explosion occurred at the company’s paper mill on a Tuesday, according to verified reports. White liquor, used in the papermaking process, is a hazardous chemical mixture that requires careful handling and storage under industrial safety protocols.
Stephen Kmiotek, a professor of chemical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, said: "Almost any place you look, any industrial site that you can think of, there are tanks with any number of hazardous chemicals in them. The risk of a tank failure is really very, very low. They’re made to very exacting standards. The risk to the general populace is really very low." He compared the safety record of chemical facilities to that of commercial aviation, adding: "Their safety records are very, very good. Unfortunately, when something bad happens, it’s often really, really bad."
Kmiotek also noted that people can obtain a list of hazardous chemicals stored in their area from their local fire department.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) oversees approximately 12,000 industrial sites that handle hazardous chemicals under its risk management plan. The Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has investigated five major chemical spills or explosions in 2024 and 2025, though it has not yet confirmed whether it will investigate the Longview incident.