The death toll from a chemical spill at a paper manufacturing plant in the US state of Washington has risen to eight, while three other workers remain missing following the industrial accident, officials said Thursday.
The incident occurred early Tuesday at a facility operated by Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company in Longview, where a massive storage tank containing a highly caustic chemical solution ruptured during a shift change.
Officials said the tank, capable of holding around 900,000 gallons of liquid, suddenly failed, triggering a large-scale emergency response.
Longview Fire Chief Brad Hannig said rescue teams have recovered six additional victims, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths to eight.
Two fatalities had already been confirmed the previous day.
Authorities said the remaining three missing individuals are feared dead as recovery operations continue.
The tank contained a chemical mixture known as "white liquor," a highly alkaline solution used in the paper-making process.
The substance contains sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide and is used to break down wood chips into pulp.
Emergency crews continue to search the site under hazardous conditions. Officials described the operation as an active recovery effort due to the dangerous environment created by the spill and structural damage.
Authorities sought to reassure nearby residents that the accident has not affected public health outside the facility.
Chris Collins said Longview’s drinking water remains safe, while environmental monitoring has not detected dangerous levels of airborne contaminants.
Federal environmental officials also said testing conducted around the site found no concerning levels of hydrogen sulfide or other hazardous air pollutants.
The plant is owned by Nippon Dynawave Packaging, a subsidiary of Japan-based Nippon Paper Group.
The company produces billions of single-use paper containers annually for customers in North America, Asia and other global markets.
Investigators are expected to examine the cause of the tank failure as recovery efforts continue.
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