The death toll from a chemical tank rupture in the US state of Washington climbed to 11 as crews recovered the bodies of all nine missing people, authorities said on Saturday.
Two fatalities had been confirmed after the tank containing “white liquor” – a chemical solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide used in making paper pulp – imploded at a Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility on Tuesday.
The search for the missing carried on through the week as recovery crews worked through debris in indoor areas and flew drones over the perimeter of the site, said Cowlitz 2 Fire and Rescue’s deputy chief, Kurt Stitch.
The ruptured tank contained about 900,000 gallons (3.4 million liters) of white liquor, and tests confirmed that contamination entered the nearby Columbia River, officials have said, although no “negative health impacts” had been detected on air quality or the city of Longview’s drinking water.
Nippon Paper Industries 3863.T, Japan’s second-biggest paper manufacturer by sales, acquired the Longview plant from Seattle-based timber company Weyerhaeuser for $225 million and established the wholly owned subsidiary Nippon Dynawave Packaging in 2016.
On Thursday, the incident transitioned from a rescue operation to recovery, Cowlitz 2 Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said.
Goldstein said that testing confirmed that contamination entered the Columbia River.
“Testing of water samples has confirmed contamination entered the Columbia River during the day yesterday. Additional evaluations are underway to better understand the scope and extent of that environmental impact,” Goldstein said. “At this time, there … continue to be no identified negative health impacts to … the surrounding air quality or the city of Longview’s drinking water system.”
Goldstein said it was fair to say roughly 550,000-570,000 gallons left the tank, while some material remains in the tank and is continuing to slowly leak.
