Washington chemical tank was called unfit for service before deadly failure, investigators find
- A federal Chemical Safety Board report released Friday found that an inspection contractor deemed a chemical tank at Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company in Longview, Washington 'not fit for continued service' in July 2025, ten months before it failed in May 2026.
- The May 26, 2026 tank failure killed 11 workers and released approximately 900,000 gallons of white liquor, a caustic liquid used in paper production, in one of the deadliest recent U.S. workplace disasters.
- Multiple inspections in July 2025, October 2025, and February 2026 identified that significant portions of the tank had wall thickness below the calculated minimum safe threshold, but the company did not remove the tank from service or implement repairs.
- The inspection contractor provided recommendations for internal inspections and shell repairs, but the company took no action on these recommendations between the July 2025 inspection and the May 2026 failure.
- The Chemical Safety Board stated it is still determining the root cause of the failure and has not yet commented on individual findings as the investigation remains ongoing.
A federal Chemical Safety Board investigation has revealed that a chemical storage tank at a Washington state paper mill was flagged as unfit for continued service ten months before it catastrophically failed in May 2026, killing 11 workers. An inspection contractor identified significant wall thinning below safe operating thresholds in July 2025 and made Priority 1 recommendations for repairs and internal inspections, noting a "high likelihood/consequence of failure."
Despite follow-up inspections in October 2025 and February 2026 confirming that large portions of the tank remained below minimum safe wall thickness, Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company did not remove the tank from service or implement the recommended repairs. The May 26 failure released approximately 900,000 gallons of white liquor, a caustic liquid used in paper production, causing severe structural damage and injuries to multiple workers and a firefighter.
The Chemical Safety Board stated it is continuing its investigation to determine the root cause of the failure. The company has indicated it will cooperate fully with the investigation while focusing on supporting affected families and employees. Union representatives and legal counsel for victims' families have called the board's findings "alarming" and "deeply troubling," raising questions about how safety recommendations were communicated and evaluated before the disaster.
调查发现华盛顿州化学储罐在致命故障前被判定不适合继续使用
美国化学安全委员会的调查显示，华盛顿州一家纸浆厂的化学储罐在2026年5月发生致命故障前十个月就被判定不适合继续使用，该故障造成11名工人死亡。检验承包商在2025年7月发现储罐壁厚明显低于安全运行阈值，并提出了一级优先级维修和内部检验建议，指出存在"高故障可能性和后果"。
尽管2025年10月和2026年2月的后续检验确认储罐大部分区域仍低于最小安全壁厚，日本大日本造纸公司仍未将储罐停止使用或实施建议的维修。5月26日的故障释放了约90万加仑的白液（纸浆生产中使用的腐蚀性液体），造成严重的结构损坏，多名工人和一名消防员受伤。
化学安全委员会表示将继续调查以确定故障的根本原因。该公司表示将充分配合调查，同时专注于支持受影响的家庭和员工。工会代表和受害者家属的法律顾问称委员会的发现"令人震惊"和"深感不安"，质疑安全建议在灾难前如何被传达和评估。