Washington chemical tank accident death toll rises to 11
The death toll from a chemical tank rupture at a Washington state paper facility has climbed to 11 after all nine missing people were found. Officials said contamination reached the Columbia River, but no harmful impact was detected in air or drinking water.
WASHINGTON: The death toll from a chemical tank rupture in Washington state has risen to 11 after recovery teams found the bodies of all nine people who had been missing, authorities said on Saturday.
Two deaths had already been confirmed after the tank, which contained white liquor, imploded on Tuesday at a Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility. White liquor is a chemical solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide used in paper pulp production.
Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue deputy chief Kurt Stitch said the search continued through the week as crews worked through debris inside the site and used drones to survey the surrounding area.
Officials said the ruptured tank had held about 900,000 gallons, or 3.4 million litres, of white liquor. Tests confirmed contamination reached the nearby Columbia River, though authorities said no negative health impacts had been detected in air quality or in the drinking water supply of the city of Longview. Nippon Paper Industries, Japan's second-largest paper manufacturer by sales, bought the Longview plant from Seattle-based timber company Weyerhaeuser for $225 million and set up the wholly owned subsidiary Nippon Dynawave Packaging in 2016.
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