A massive chemical tank holding nearly a million gallons of a highly corrosive liquid imploded and collapsed Tuesday at a Washington paper mill.
LONGVIEW, Wash. — Lonnie Koistinen said he was taught at a young age that men don’t show emotion. But at age 71, the lifelong resident of Longview, Washington said he couldn’t help himself. Not after what happened at the local pulp-and-paper facility early Tuesday.
“Men do cry sometimes when real tragic things happen,” he told KING 5 after attending a vigil that night to honor the victims. “I had a few tears at this vigil because it was so sad.”
A massive tank containing caustic white liquor ruptured at the Nippon Dynawave facility in Longview, killing at least one worker. Nine others were unaccounted for as of Tuesday night.
Koistinen fears he may know someone who didn’t make it out.
“It’s the most tragic thing that’s happened in Longview in my lifetime,” he said.
Officials said a 900,000-gallon tank storing white liquor — a chemical mixture of sodium hydroxide, sodium sulfide and disodium carbonate used in the papermaking process — ruptured. Fire officials believe 90,000 gallons of the chemical remain inside the tank.
Nine people, including one firefighter and eight employees, were taken to hospitals in Longview and Vancouver for treatment, according to the Longview Fire Department. Recovery efforts will resume Wednesday.
More than 100 people attended the community vigil.
“I drive past the mill every day on my way home, every day out into town. It’s a huge part of our community. If we didn’t have our millworkers, the town would probably face a steady decline. They’re hard-working people,” Graylan Davis said.
He said his wife knows someone directly impacted by the implosion. After the vigil, he encouraged attendees to embrace one another as the scope of the tragedy becomes clearer in the coming days.
“I worry people within our community don’t feel like they can reach out to somebody that doesn’t fit in their clique, so to speak—blue collar, white collar, left, right,” Davis said. “We’re all here.”