Two separate chemical tank incidents are drawing attention to industrial storage, emergency response and chemical safety oversight.

In Longview, Washington, crews recovered the ninth and final missing worker from the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. site, and families of all 11 victims have been notified, according to the Washington Department of Ecology. The May 26 incident involved a tank containing white liquor, a caustic solution used in pulp and paper processing.

Reuters reported that the death toll from the chemical tank rupture rose to 11 after crews recovered the bodies of all nine missing people. The tank contained about 900,000 gallons of white liquor, a solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide used in paper pulp production.

The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board has opened an investigation into the incident. CSB said a team of investigators was sent to Longview after initial reports indicated multiple fatalities, serious injuries and workers unaccounted for.

Environmental monitoring remains underway. Washington Department of Ecology said stationary and roving air monitoring continued to show zero detections of harmful gases, Longview’s drinking water remained safe and water being discharged to the Columbia River had been diluted to safe pH levels. The agency said some elevated pH levels remained in smaller affected waterways and asked residents to avoid affected sloughs, dikes and drainage ditches.

The Longview incident followed a separate chemical tank emergency at a GKN Aerospace facility in Garden Grove, California, where an overheated tank containing methyl methacrylate prompted evacuation orders affecting about 50,000 people. AP reported that officials later lifted the final evacuation orders after the tank temperature stabilized and said no contamination or fumes had been released. Officials said air, sewer and storm drain monitoring would continue.

CalMatters reported that methyl methacrylate is not a regulated substance under California’s Accidental Release Program. Orange County health officials told CalMatters that GKN had a hazardous materials business plan on file, but no risk management plan.

Methyl methacrylate has a direct materials connection to the coatings industry. PCI previously reported that a 2024 peer-reviewed study in Materials included methyl methacrylate among the monomers used to synthesize polyacrylate resins for powder coatings. 

White liquor is a pulp and paper process chemical, not a coatings raw material. PCI previously noted that sodium hydroxide, one component of white liquor, has coatings relevance as a strong inorganic base used as a neutralizer in some waterborne industrial and automotive coatings. 

Nippon Dynawave Packaging is associated with Nippon Paper Industries. It is not a Nippon Paint facility. PCI previously reported on the Longview incident as it moved from the initial rupture to recovery operations and confirmed river contamination.   

Sources: Washington Department of Ecology, Reuters, U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, AP, CalMatters

PCI previously reported on these incidents here:

• Nippon Tank Implosion Leaves Workers Missing
• Chemical Tank Emergency Prompts California Evacuations
• Nippon Tank Implosion Update: Death Toll Rises
• Tank Implosion Moves to Recovery as River Contamination Is Confirmed