One dead and nine missing after chemical tank implodes in Washington

At least one person has been killed and nine others are missing after a massive chemical tank holding nearly a million gallons of a highly corrosive liquid imploded at a facility in Washington State.

Another nine people were injured, some severely, in the spill at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co., a pulp and paper mill in Longview.

Officials have repeatedly referred to the situation as a "recovery effort", with Cowlitz Fire and Rescue Chief Scott Goldstein telling reporters on Tuesday: “At the moment we are not aware of any rescues that are yet to be made."

Emergency responders planned to work on stabilising the collapsed tank on Wednesday morning, which still contained about 340,000 litres of a chemical brew known as "white liquor". They will then search for the missing.

Officials said they would only work during daylight hours because there was a risk of the tank leaking more caustic liquid and potentially collapsing.

“We don’t know until we know, hopefully tomorrow, how we can stabilise the tank. Do we remove the product first? Do we stabilise the tank first or vice versa?” Goldstein said.

Authorities said there was no threat to the public.

White liquor, which consists mainly of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide, is used with heat to break down wood to make kraft paper, a durable material used in packaging, shopping bags and other products.

The severity of injuries resulting from the spillage ranged from minor to critical, with some suffering burns or inhalation injuries, authorities said. Among those injured was a responding firefighter.

Goldstein told a press conference on Tuesday that it was too early to determine the cause of the implosion.

Washington State Senator Patty Murray added: “I know there’s a lot of questions about how all of this happened and I want to assure you that we will all continue to pressure to get answers to those questions.

“This community deserves that.”

The Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. facility remains central to the community of Longview, dating back to 1953 and employing about 1,000 people.

“The people who are responders here have friends and relatives that work on site,” Goldstein noted.

“It is something that is impactful, and we have support networks to support the workers as well as the emergency responders.”