A major chemical explosion at Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company in Longview, Washington, on May 26 left multiple people injured, with chemical burns reported. Authorities said there is no immediate threat to the public while crews and hazmat teams worked to co
The first alarms in Longview, Washington, went off at about 7:18 a.m. on May 26, and within minutes the scene turned into a hazmat response.
Authorities described a “major chemical explosion” at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company. a facility on the Washington side of the Portland area—about an hour north of the Oregon border. The Longview Fire Department said the incident involved “an implosion involving a vat of chemical treatment product.”.
Multiple people were hurt. The fire department said victims suffered chemical burns and other injuries and were taken by ambulance to local hospitals. A total count of those injured and details on their conditions were not released.
Fire crews were joined by a hazmat team working alongside the facility’s employees to mitigate the chemical treatment product and the container involved. Despite the scale of the incident, the Longview Fire Department said there was no immediate threat to the public.
The company sits within a pulp and paper mill and a liquid packaging plant. according to the Washington Department of Ecology. which regulates “air. water. and hazardous waste activities” at such sites. The pulp and paper mill employs about 550 people. and the operation produces “280. 000 tons of bleached liquid packaging paperboard and wetlap and slush pulp each year. ” the Ecology Department said. The liquid packaging plant employs about 450 people.
What the facility makes is closely tied to consumer products. Bleached paperboard from the plant is used to make cartons and cups for products including milk, juice, coffee and sake, according to a 2023 news release.
A timeline of actions—an implosion involving chemical treatment product. victims transported for treatment. and hazmat crews working to control the material—has left one immediate question unanswered for the public: how the incident unfolded inside the plant and what caused the chemical exposure reported by responders.
Nippon Dynawave did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the Washington Department of Ecology also did not respond to an inquiry.
Longview Washington chemical explosion Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company hazmat team chemical burns pulp and paper mill liquid packaging plant Washington Department of Ecology hazardous waste corporate news