LONGVIEW, Wash. — Workers in Longview are heading back to work this week— five months after the tragedy at the Nippon Dynawave paper plant killed 11 employees.
“Returning to work is an important step toward stability for these workers and their families, but it does not erase the grief or the need for accountability after losing 11 coworkers. As employees return, we remain focused on their safety, their participation in safety decisions, and a thorough investigation that provides answers and helps prevent another tragedy,” a spokesperson for the Association for Western Pulp and Paper Workers told KIRO 7 News.
Employees will continue to receive pay through January 17, 2027, even if their departments cannot resume operations.
In August, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board released its report on the deadly implosion. According to that report, the chemical tank was found unsafe before the incident.
The implosion
On Tuesday, May 26, 2026, at around 1:55 a.m., the mill’s digestor had an unexpected problem called a process upset. Operators had to take it offline so it could be repaired.
A digestor is a major piece of equipment used in the pulping process. Normally, white liquor is fed into the digestor to help break down wood chips into pulp.
According to the report, workers reduced the amount of white liquor being sent to the digestor and by 4:08 a.m. they completely shut off the flow.
While white liquor was no longer leaving G Tank, more white liquor was still being produced upstream, according to the report, which meant the tank rose to about 90% full by 6:22 a.m.
At approximately 7:09 a.m., the tank catastrophically failed, releasing approximately 900,000 gallons of white liquor.
At the time of the tank failure, the report states that 17 employees were present on the ground level:
- Seven maintenance employees and one foreman were in the mechanical maintenance shop
- Eight maintenance employees were in the electrical maintenance shop
- One operator was in the courtyard
According to the report, most of the tank’s contents were released when it failed, creating a massive “wave” of white liquor that rapidly flooded into the courtyard and towards the buildings.
11 people died.
READ: Who were the victims of the Longview deadly implosion
What’s next?
The investigation is ongoing. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board says complete findings, analyses, and recommendations, if appropriate, will be detailed in its final investigation report. No word on when that could be released.
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