The Washington State Paper Mill Explosion That Has Shaken the Nation
The Washington State paper mill explosion at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility in Longview is one of those tragedies you see on the news and have to stop and sit with for a moment — because it hits differently when you realize these were ordinary people clocking in for a Tuesday morning shift, just like any other day. I’ve been following the story closely since it broke, and I want to make sure you have the full, verified picture of what happened, who’s affected, and what we all need to take away from this devastating event.
The implosion happened around 7:15 a.m. Tuesday, May 26, 2026, at the Nippon Dynawave plant — a tank built to hold 900,000 gallons of “white liquor,” a noxious chemical used in the paper-pulping process, catastrophically failed. Authorities had previously noted the implosion happened during a shift change, which is heartbreaking, because that timing meant more workers were gathered in one area than at almost any other point in the day.
Two people had previously been pronounced dead, and the six bodies recovered on Thursday were found in what was described as a workers’ area, where employees would gather before and after their shifts. The death toll in the incident at the paper mill in Longview on Tuesday is 11, but the remains of three of those people had not yet been recovered by Thursday afternoon.
The 11 likely deaths in Tuesday’s implosion at the paper mill in Longview would make it the deadliest industrial accident in modern state history, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said. That’s not a small statement. That’s a governor telling the world that nothing like this has happened on this scale in their state — in living memory.
If the 11 deaths are confirmed, it would be one of the deadliest industrial accidents in the U.S. in recent decades — alongside a series of blasts that killed 16 people at an explosives plant in Tennessee last fall, a fire and detonation that killed 14 people at a fertilizer plant in Texas in 2013, and the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion that killed 11 people in 2010.
The tank that failed was holding white liquor — a chemical commonly used in paper and pulp processing, which consists of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide. Authorities previously said the tank had an approximate capacity of 900,000 gallons and was about two-thirds full at the time of the incident.
Among the confirmed victims was Gilbert Bernal, 52, an instrument technician who worked at Nippon Dynawave for more than a decade. He was proud of his career, having taken night classes while being a father of two and working full-time at a gas station before building his life at the mill. Stories like Gilbert’s remind us that behind every statistic is a real person, a real family, and a real loss that can’t be measured.
What You Need to Know About Industrial Safety After the Washington State Paper Mill Explosion
So what can the rest of us actually learn from this disaster? Whether you work in an industrial setting, live near one, or just care about worker safety in this country, there are concrete steps and awareness points worth understanding right now.
Know the chemicals in your workplace. White liquor is a highly corrosive chemical solution used in paper manufacturing and was at the center of the tank rupture. It’s primarily composed of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide — strong alkaline chemicals used in the “kraft” process to break down wood into pulp for paper products. In industrial settings, the liquid is heated under high pressure to dissolve lignin. If you’re an industrial worker, make sure you know not just what chemicals are present, but what their failure scenarios look like.
Understand shift-change risks. The rupture happened at shift change on Tuesday morning, causing the huge circular tank to buckle on one side. Shift changes concentrate workers in common areas. That’s when headcounts matter most and when emergency procedures should be especially sharp. If your facility doesn’t have a clear accountability protocol during shift handoffs, that’s worth raising today — not next month.
Push for regular equipment inspections. Almost every industry uses chemical tanks like this, and they are generally quite safe, said Stephen Kmiotek, a chemical engineering professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. But it’s important that companies keep up proper maintenance and inspections, particularly after the tanks get older. Ask your supervisor or safety officer when your facility’s storage tanks were last independently inspected. That’s a reasonable and potentially life-saving question.
Report violations without fear. The Washington Department of Ecology had previously fined Nippon Dynawave for permit violations, including exceeding wastewater discharge limits and air emissions thresholds. In one case, regulators said the company released more solids into treated wastewater than allowed under its permit and exceeded limits on sulfur dioxide emissions. Workers and community members who report concerns are the first line of defense. Know your OSHA rights and use them.
Follow emergency evacuation protocols. Officials said there was no direct threat to the surrounding community, but residents were urged to avoid Industrial Way and nearby areas while emergency crews continued response and recovery operations. If local officials tell you to stay away from an area after an industrial incident, take it seriously. The chemical risks don’t stop at the plant fence.
Red Flags and Warning Signs the Longview Community Couldn’t Ignore
Here’s a hard truth: this disaster didn’t happen in a vacuum. There were warning signs — and looking at them honestly is the only way the industry prevents the next tragedy.
State regulators had cited the mill for earlier violations tied to high-pH wastewater discharges and other permit exceedances in 2020 and 2021, according to agency notices, which resulted in additional penalties. That’s a years-long paper trail of compliance issues that should prompt serious questions about oversight and enforcement.
The Longview facility also experienced a large industrial fire in July 2023. One fire might be a fluke. Combined with multiple environmental violations and now a catastrophic tank failure, you have a pattern that regulators and company management should have been addressing far more urgently.
A number of inspections of the Nippon Dynawave plant remain open, said Joel Sacks, director of the state Labor Department. Paper mill plants are subjected to multiple regulatory inspections because of the chemicals and processes that are used. “Open inspections” at the time of a fatal accident is the kind of detail that tends to turn into a central question in any legal or regulatory investigation — and it should.
Some of the liquid from the tank leaked into a complex of nearby ditches that sit above a source for the city’s drinking water, and that people and pets have access to. The danger here didn’t end when the explosion stopped. Environmental contamination is an ongoing concern for the entire Longview community, and residents should stay informed through official channels.
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, an independent nonregulatory federal agency, said it has opened an investigation into the cause of the incident. That’s a necessary step — but accountability has to follow, not just inquiry.
Final Word
The Washington State paper mill explosion in Longview is a tragedy that will leave a permanent mark on this community and on the national conversation about industrial safety. Eleven families are grieving right now. A city is shaken. And a country is — or should be — asking hard questions about whether we’re doing enough to protect the men and women who work in our most hazardous industries every single day.
The key takeaways are clear: regulatory red flags need swift follow-through, tank inspections and maintenance can never be treated as optional, and shift-change protocols deserve the same rigor as any other safety procedure. The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board’s goal is to “determine how it happened and what can be done to prevent something like this from happening again” — and that has to mean real change, not just a report filed away on a shelf.
If you work in an industrial setting, talk to your safety officer this week. If you live near a plant, know your local emergency alert systems. And if you’re in a position to advocate for stronger worker protections, now is the time. These eleven lives deserve more than thoughts — they deserve action.