Major chemical explosion injures several at Longview paper mill
A chemical blast injured multiple workers at Longview’s Nippon Dynawave mill, forcing officials to clear Industrial Way as crews raced to contain the hazard.
Multiple people were injured when a major chemical explosion hit the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company facility in Longview, forcing officials to keep residents away from Industrial Way and the surrounding area as emergency crews rushed in. The blast was reported around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, and the Longview Fire Department said the incident left several people hurt, though the exact number and the severity of the injuries were not immediately released.
The facility sits in an industrial corridor near the Columbia River and close to the Washington-Oregon border, placing a large chemical and manufacturing operation directly alongside a densely regulated stretch of waterfront industry. The Washington State Department of Ecology said it regulates the air, water and hazardous-waste activities at the pulp and paper mill, underscoring how many different environmental and safety systems are tied to the site.
Nippon Dynawave has operated in Longview since 1953 and is a subsidiary of Nippon Paper Group. Ecology says the pulp and paper mill employs about 550 workers, while the liquid packaging plant employs about 450 more. The company says the site manufactures liquid packaging board and paperboard that customers convert into about eight billion single-serve containers each year, including the equivalent of six billion liter-sized cartons of milk.
Officials had not immediately said what chemical was involved, how the explosion started, or whether anyone remained at risk from ongoing exposure at the plant. With the plant’s air, water and hazardous-waste operations all under state oversight, the unanswered questions now center on how a site of this size and significance was left vulnerable to a blast that injured workers and disrupted a major industrial corridor in Longview.
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