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 liquor, a highly corrosive substance used in the paper-making process, but later revised that estimate to roughly 600,000 gallons. Authorities also reduced the estimated remaining volume in the tank from 90,000 gallons to about 25,000 gallons.
Longview Fire Chief Brad Hannig confirmed Friday that crews have recovered an additional victim. Nine people are confirmed dead, and two remain missing.
Hannig said he met with families earlier in the day to provide updates on recovery efforts, emphasizing both the scale of the loss and the ongoing support from the community.
“I want to acknowledge the tremendous impact that this has had and continues to be on the victims’ families, co-workers, responders, and the community at large. I also want to say thank you for the outpouring of support that we’ve received, our responders have received from the community as we continue to navigate this incident,” Hannig said.
He added that recovery operations are now expanding into areas that had previously been inaccessible, while stressing that responder safety and victim dignity remain the highest priorities.
Battalion Fire Chief Matt Amos said multiple local, regional, state, and federal agencies remain involved in the response, along with facility personnel and contractors who have been on site throughout the incident.
Amos said crews worked overnight to reduce hazards limiting access, using vacuum trucks and long hose lines to manage chemical mixtures in the area. Those efforts allowed responders to move deeper into the site with improved air readings and closer proximity to where victims are located.
He said recovery remains slow and methodical due to ongoing industrial hazards and the need to document each step of the process for investigation purposes. Officials also continue to maintain an exclusion zone around a tank that remains unchanged and is being monitored with drone flights.
“Currently, we’re working inside a much closer proximity to where we’re finding the victims, which is helping our recovery of our responders and our turnaround time. We’re still working very slowly and methodically,” Amos said.
Amos emphasized continued coordination and safety precautions, noting that despite the difficulty of the operation, progress is being made.
Environmental impact
Federal on-scene coordinator with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Brooks Stanfield, said multiple agencies are working together at the site as recovery continues inside the area of greatest impact.
“As the firefighters have been conducting their operation, we’ve been working to take every measure we can to ensure that public health and the environment are protected throughout this process,” Stanfield said.
Stanfield said the EPA is also focused on public health protection through continuous air monitoring, which has shown no detections of harmful gases so far. He said monitoring will continue until officials are confident there is no ongoing risk of releases from the facility.
He added that water conditions in the community’s ditch system are improving as flushing operations continue, though some isolated areas still require targeted work.
“We have started to see marked improvement in the pH levels in the ditch, the ditch system, most specifically in the ditch here, right above the well fields, which was a priority focus area for us,” Stanfield said.
Courtney Serad, on-site coordinator for the Washington Department of Ecology, said there are currently no fish advisories or recreational restrictions in place for the Columbia River.
Serad said Chinook salmon are currently migrating upriver and that officials are working to reduce potential impacts to wildlife connected to the river system. She said 23 fish have been recovered so far, including carp, catfish, and bluegill, though access limitations mean not all affected areas can be reached.
“Everyone involved in this response cares deeply about these natural resources,” Serad said.
She added that some fish will likely remain unrecovered due to steep and hazardous terrain and urged the public not to handle or collect dead fish. Officials continue to monitor conditions in both the ditch system and the Columbia River in coordination with federal partners, including the U.S. Coast Guard.
“As we continue to flush the ditches, we do anticipate that some of the dead fish that we cannot recover will be discharged during pumping activities. Any fish that are observed dead in the Columbia River are anticipated to be from these ditches,” Serad said.
Longview Public Works Director Chris Collins said the city’s drinking water remains safe and there is no threat to public health from the water system.
“There continues to be no threat to our drinking water or to public health related to our drinking water system,” Collins said.
Collins said odor concerns have been reported in parts of the community, including a “rotten egg” smell near ditch areas. He said this is caused by hydrogen sulfide released during dilution and is not considered dangerous, adding that it is an indication that flushing and pumping operations are working.
He also urged the public to stay out of ditch areas due to elevated pH levels and to keep pets and animals away from the water. He said Lake Sacagawea will be gradually drawn down over the coming week to support ongoing flushing efforts.
Collins said progress over the past 24 hours has been significant but emphasized that continued monitoring and response work remain necessary to protect the city’s water supply and surrounding environment.
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