Death toll rises in Washington paper mill chemical tank implosion

Two people were killed and nine others remain missing after a chemical tank imploded at a paper mill in Washington state. Authorities warned the incident could become one of the deadliest industrial disasters in the state’s modern history as investigations and recovery operations continue.

Washington: The death toll from a chemical tank implosion at a paper mill in Longview in the US state of Washington rose to two, and nine others remain missing and are presumed dead, local officials said.

The incident involved a tank containing “white liquor,” a corrosive chemical solution used in pulp and paper processing, with a capacity of about 900,000 gallons, officials said on Wednesday (local time).

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The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board announced Wednesday that it had opened an investigation into the incident and that a team of its investigators would be arriving at the site.

Local fire officials said the tank released a large amount of the corrosive chemical, noting that recovery efforts would be “slow, methodical and deliberate” due to the structural instability of the damaged tank and the risk of exposure to corrosive chemicals, reports Xinhua news agency.

Any recovered victims would undergo decontamination before being transported to the coroner’s office for identification and family notification, officials added.

Local officials said the rupture had not affected the safety of air and drinking water in Longview, though some contamination had reached the Columbia River, and testing was ongoing.

Washington Governor Bob Ferguson said Wednesday that officials were bracing for the possibility that the incident could become “the deadliest industrial tragedy in modern Washington state history.”

The tank implosion occurred at a facility operated by Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co., a subsidiary of Japan’s Nippon Paper Group. A company official said Wednesday that the company was focused on helping emergency responders search for the missing and supporting the victims’ families and employees.

The cause of the incident remains under investigation.