LONGVIEW, Wash. — KIRO 7 News has discovered that the Longview paper mill that imploded Tuesday has been cited several times by the Washington Department of Ecology for violations of its wastewater and air operating permit.
According to their permit, Nippon Dynawave Packing Company plant’s sulfur dioxide emissions, “shall not exceed 1,000 parts per million for an hourly average.”
On August 6, 2024, the smell of sulfur may have been more noticeable in the city. That day, the Department of Ecology fined the company $4,500 for exceeding its allowed sulfur dioxide emissions over a three-hour average.
That same day, Ecology fined the company an additional $2,000 for exceeding the amount of solids it is allowed to discharge in its wastewater.
Earlier this year, Ecology fined Nippon Dynawave Packing Company $5,500 for “venting of process gases over the amount allowed by the federal regulations” during the entire second half of 2024.
The wastewater permit is how the company detected and reported elevated pH levels in its wastewater that was released into the Columbia River on Tuesday as a result of the implosion.
Ecology told KIRO 7 news that the previous violations are unrelated to the tank that ruptured this week.
“We will cooperate to the maximum extent that we can with the investigation. It is our duty and our obligation to do so. We look forward to a full and complete investigation,” shared the company’s Director of Support Service, Brian Wood. “These are our people. We are focused on our people, we are focused on helping our responders find and recover those people.”
Other investigations into Nippon Dynawave Packing Company
The paper mill also has several open investigations by Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries (L&I).
Representatives with the state’s L&I department confirmed that one of the open inspections came as a result of an anonymous complaint about a valve on an aqua ammonia clarifier tank. It was not the same tank that imploded. The other open inspection was opened after a complaint about a sinkhole created by a failed drain.
The company also received four prior safety citations since 2020, according to the state.
The implosion
On Tuesday, May 26, at approximately 7:18 a.m. the Longview Fire Department (LFD) responded to a hazardous material incident at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company.
According to fire officials, a tank containing a highly acidic chemical called white liquor ruptured. Images from the aftermath show flipped cars and a crushed vat.
As of this reporting, two people have died. Nine other employees are feared dead.
Officials are now developing a plan to remove remaining liquid in the tank and find a way to safely recover any bodies from the scene.
Governor Bob Ferguson has called this the ‘worst industrial tragedy’ in modern Washington history.
Emergency officials said it is still not clear what caused the vat to fail.