LONGVIEW, Washington (From news reports) -- Nippon Dynawave Packaging has informed employees they will continue to receive pay through Oct. 11 following the deadly white liquor tank implosion at the Longview, Washington, pulp and paper mill on May 26 that has idled operations.
The company previously had agreed to fully pay workers through Aug. 8, and the new agreement "provides much-needed stability" while local, state and federal investigations into the incident continue, said the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers in a statement.
This pay extension alleviates some uncertainty for employees after Nippon Dynawave ceased operations in light of the implosion that killed 11 people and injured 8 others. As of parent company Nippon Paper's most recent June 24 update, production remained suspended and financial impacts reportedly were still being assessed. While the entire pulp and paper mill employs about 550 people, the liquid packaging plant has about 450 employees, according to the Washington Department of Ecology.
While remediation efforts, damage assessments and repair planning continue at the site, so too do investigations at all levels of government. Therefore, "every step toward restarting operations must be undertaken carefully and safely," said AWPPW in the statement. "These are deliberate processes that require collaboration, patience, and a shared commitment to doing things the right way."
Earlier this month, the Washington attorney general's office announced that it's investigating whether any criminal activity contributed to the implosion. It did not give an expected timeline for the investigation.
The next day, the state's Department of Labor & Industries announced that in addition to its ongoing investigation of the disaster, which has a completion deadline of Nov. 22, it opened new inspections at two other kraft pulp and paper mills in the state: one a Smurfit Westrock site and another facility owned by Port Townsend Paper Co. Those probes could take up to six months, according to L&I, and will center on whether the other employers are following state laws regarding work site hazards. The agency also said it would launched a targeted enforcement program for similar inspections into chemical use and storage at Washington's seven pulp and paper mills that don't use the kraft process.
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board also is looking into the implosion. During a June CSB meeting, an employee laid out four areas the federal investigation will focus on: mechanisms that led to the tank failure; facility siting; maintenance and mechanical integrity; and relevant facility, corporate and industry standards. CSB anticipates it will release an investigation update by the end of September and a full report sometime next spring.
In June, Washington's Department of Ecology released photos from the site as cleanup was underway. Some showed the cinder block wall separating the break room from the courtyard where the tank stood had been damaged during the implosion when debris, such as facility trucks, pushed against it, the agency said. AWPPW said at the time that these photos were released to provide situational context, but they were not intended to offer conclusions about incident causation, workplace conditions, regulatory compliance or other factors.
AWPPW also has said it's monitoring the situation to understand the incident's root cause and identify measures to help prevent such disasters in the future.
"We appreciate the collaborative approach that has developed between AWPPW and Nippon Dynawave throughout this process," the union said in its statement Friday. "We will continue advocating for our members and their families, maintaining open communication, and working collaboratively with Nippon Dynawave, our state and local elected officials, and all appropriate agencies to support a safe recovery and a responsible path forward for everyone impacted."
