Eight workers are dead after a chemical tank ruptured at a paper mill in Longview, Washington, and three employees remain missing, according to ABC News. The confirmed death toll rose Thursday when the bodies of six more employees were found inside the facility.
Longview Fire Battalion Chief Matt Amos said the six bodies were found in a workers' area where employees typically gathered during shift changes. The three remaining missing workers are in areas that have not yet been searched. Amos said recovery efforts would continue into the evening after a break.
The incident was reported Tuesday morning at Nippon Dynawave Packaging, a pulp and paper mill about 50 miles northwest of Portland. A tank containing white liquor, a chemical mixture of sodium hydroxide, sodium sulfide and disodium carbonate used in the paper-making process, ruptured in what authorities described as a blast that damaged much of the facility. Two employees were transported to hospitals immediately after the rupture and later died.
Recovery crews face ongoing hazards at the site. "They have to decontaminate every time that they leave that area because of the hazards that are still there," Amos said.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson warned the incident could be the deadliest industrial tragedy in modern Washington state history. The Cowlitz County Coroner's Office said it will release the names of the deceased when all individuals have been recovered and family notifications are complete.
Brian Wood, director of support services for Nippon Dynawave Packaging, addressed safety questions during a Thursday press briefing. "We work in a highly hazardous atmosphere and a highly hazardous industry. We approach it with the utmost care in everything that we do. I'll let the facts speak for themselves," he said.
The pulp mill has been shut down following the incident, with minimum staffing operating critical infrastructure including the effluent treatment system. The facility sits on the Washington-Oregon border near the Columbia River, and contamination was confirmed to have entered the surrounding area.
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board announced Wednesday it is opening an investigation into the incident to determine how it happened and what can be done to prevent similar events. The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries said it is also investigating.