At least one person was killed and nine remain missing after a tank of white liquor—a chemical mixture used in the industrial papermaking process—ruptured at a facility in Washington in an incident first responders are now saying is creating “hazardous conditions” for rescuers.
A tank of white liquor imploded at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company in southern Washington state on Tuesday.
The chemical tank rupture occurred at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company—a kraft pulp and paper mill and liquid packaging plant that employs hundreds of workers, according to Washington’s Department of Ecology.
At least 10 people were hospitalized after the rupture on Tuesday morning, the Longview Fire Department said in an update on Tuesday evening—which includes the employee who died and one firefighter who has since been released.
At least nine more employees were still unaccounted for, officials said.
