Governor Bob Ferguson ordered flags to be at half-staff for a week in early June in honor of the 11 killed in the chemical tank explosion on the morning of May 26 at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging plant in Longview, Wash.

Eleven people were killed during a shift change when a chemical tank holding hundreds of thousands of gallons of white liquor imploded. White liquor is a strongly alkaline solution composed mainly of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide. It is used in the first stage of the kraft process in which lignin is separated from cellulose fiber for the production of pulp. The white liquor breaks the bonds between lignin and cellulose. It is called white liquor due to its white, opaque color. 

U.S. Chemical Safety Board is investigating the incident. CSB Chairperson Steve Owens says, “The CSB is opening an investigation into this tragic incident to determine how it happened and what can be done to prevent something like this from happening again.”

 It took days for responders to be able to safely locate the remaining workers, as officials said the situation was unstable. The sprawling effort involved diverting the spilled substance away from the community’s water supply. Because the chemicals and the tank were deemed unstable, responders couldn’t immediately access all the areas of the facility to search for victims. 

Nippon Dynawave Packaging is a U.S. subsidiary of Nippon Paper, formed in the 2016 acquisition of the Longview site from Weyerhaeuser. Nippon Dynawave Packaging produces 300,000 metric tons of premium paperboard. The facility also produces northern bleached softwood kraft, which is used for absorbent tissue products, wrapping paper and other items.

“We express our deepest condolences and offer our heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved families. We also sincerely apologize for the immense concern and inconvenience this has caused to the local community, our business partners, and all related parties,” Nippon Paper stated.

American Forest & Paper Assn. and Northwest Pulp & Paper Assn. issued a joint statement: “As representatives of the pulp and paper industry, we extend our deepest sympathies to everyone affected by the tragedy in Longview. In particular, our hearts go out to the families of those who were lost, as well as to those who were injured. We also share our support for all of the mill workers and AWPPW union members impacted by this tragedy. Safety is a core value across our industry. We support efforts to fully understand the root cause of this incident and identify measures that can help prevent similar tragedies in the future.”

Dürr AG has concluded an agreement with an affiliate of Stellex Capital Management LLC (“Stellex”) on the sale of its environmental technology business, which includes the areas of exhaust air purification technology and sound insulation systems and forms the Clean Technology Systems Environmental division within the Dürr Group.

With this sale, the mechanical and plant engineering firm is completing the simplification of the Group structure announced a year ago, underlining its strategic focus on the automation of production processes. At the same time, the Group retains a re-investment in environmental technology amounting to approximately 25%. The enterprise value of the environmental technology business is approximately €385 million. After deducting the costs for acquiring the reinvestment and other transaction-related costs, the Dürr Group expects net proceeds from the sale of around €250 million, which will be used to strengthen the Group by reducing debt. The transaction is subject to standard approvals and expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Under Stellex’s ownership, the environmental technology business is well positioned to expand its leadership, benefitting from resources to support the expected growth. In 2024, environmental technology generated sales of €407 million and employed around 1,300 people, including around 450 in Germany. The head office is located in Bietigheim-Bissingen and the business operates in 16 locations across 12 countries worldwide.

Dr. Sebastian Baumann, Head of the Clean Technology Systems Environmental division at Dürr comments, “We can look back on a successful development in the environmental technology business and are convinced that we can develop our potential even better as an independent company. With Stellex at our side, new opportunities for growth and innovation are opening up, both in our established business areas and in pioneering technology areas such as carbon capture and heat storage.”

In mid-2024, Dürr had announced the assessment of strategic options for the environmental technology business, including a possible sale. With this sale Dürr will have three divisions, instead of five, having completed the sale of the Danish filling technology company Agramkow last year. The company is now focusing consistently on its core business with automated and sustainable production technologies. In addition, business with the automotive industry was bundled into the new automotive division at the beginning of 2025.