Washington's Department of Labor and Industries has fined Nippon Dynawave USD 77,000 for a willful serious violation after a worker nearly sank into hot pulp at its Longview mill in March 2026, months before a white liquor tank failure there killed 11 workers. Nippon disputes the willful classification and intends to appeal. Separately, the estates of two of the workers killed filed the third wrongful death suit over the May 2026 tank failure on 23 October. The suit names Nippon and former owner Weyerhaeuser, which denies responsibility.
Why this mattersA citation for a pre-collapse incident and a growing set of wrongful death suits extend the regulatory and litigation exposure from the Longview mill's safety record.
- L&I citation issued 29 October 2026 carries a USD 77,000 fine over a March 2026 incident in which a worker waded through 145-degree pulp and fell into a sinkhole
- Nippon Dynawave disagrees with the 'willful serious' classification and intends to appeal
- On 26 May 2026 a 1.2 million-gallon tank failed and released 900,000 gallons of caustic white liquor, killing 11 workers
- The third wrongful death suit was filed on 23 October 2026 in Cowlitz County Superior Court by the estates of Dillon Andrew Miller and Clinton Lee Doran Jr.
- The suit alleges contractor inspections in July 2025, October 2025 and February 2026 found tank shell sections below minimum safe thickness; Weyerhaeuser, which built the tank in 1987 and sold the mill in 2016, denies responsibility
- L&I has investigated more than a dozen safety complaints at the mill since 2018; over USD 2.4m in workers' compensation claims has been paid for 169 injured employees since 2015
- Washington State Department of Labor & Industries fined Nippon Dynawave a further USD 77,800 over two worker-safety violations.
- The new fine relates to an April 2026 incident at the Longview mill in which a worker fell.
Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper will receive more than CAD 2.4m in Ontario provincial funding to plan boiler and chemical-plant upgrades expected to raise daily kraft production by 11%. The upgrades would also cut bleaching-chemical use by around 30% and reduce annual natural gas consumption by more than 5 million cubic metres. Separately, Ontario is providing CAD 93,000 to AUX Energy for a biomass generator project in Fort Frances and CAD 33,000 to Weyerhaeuser for production-line upgrade studies.
Why this mattersThe upgrade would lift kraft capacity at a Northwestern Ontario mill while cutting gas and chemical use, supporting the region's forestry-sector cost base.
- Ontario will provide more than CAD 2.4m for planning of boiler and chemical-plant upgrades at Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper.
- The upgrades are expected to raise daily kraft production by 11%.
- The mill would need over 130,000 tonnes of additional annual forest biomass to support the higher output.
- Bleaching-chemical use would fall by around 30% and natural gas consumption by more than 5 million cubic metres a year.
- AUX Energy will receive CAD 93,000 to plan a biomass-powered generator project in Fort Frances.
- Weyerhaeuser will receive CAD 33,000 to study production-line upgrades.
- The mill discontinued newsprint production in the first quarter of 2026.
- Combined capital cost of the three upgrade projects is estimated at C$170-180m (USD 121-128m) if the company proceeds.
- The project is expected to create demand for over 130,000 tonnes of forest biomass per year.
- Ontario frames the funding package as protecting over 700 direct and 3,350 indirect forestry jobs amid US tariff pressure.
US and North Carolina authorities sued Domtar Paper Company on 16 September 2026 over historic hazardous releases, including dioxins, furans and mercury, from the Martin County site formerly run by predecessor Weyerhaeuser, and simultaneously filed a proposed consent decree to settle the claims. The draft settlement includes a conservation deed restriction on about 760 acres of Warren Neck wetlands and USD 1.75m for floodplain and fish-passage restoration along the lower Roanoke River, with credit given for prior remediation work by Domtar. The consent decree is open for public comment before a court can finalise it.
Why this mattersThe case sets a template for resolving legacy contamination liabilities at acquired US mills, with restoration costs and land-use restrictions that could recur across the sector.
- Complaint filed 16 September 2026 by North Carolina's Department of Environmental Quality and federal authorities against Domtar Paper Company, LLC over its Martin County mill site.
- Contaminants including dioxins, furans and mercury from predecessor Weyerhaeuser's waste disposal were detected in fish tissue in Welch Creek, the lower Roanoke River and western Albemarle Sound.
- A proposed consent decree, filed the same day by NC DEQ, NOAA and US Fish and Wildlife Service, would settle the natural resource damages claim.
- The draft settlement includes a conservation deed restriction on about 760 acres of Warren Neck forested wetlands.
- USD 1.75m is earmarked for floodplain reconnection, wetland protection and fish-passage restoration covering over 600 acres of habitat.
- A fish consumption advisory tied to the contamination has been in effect since 1990; the consent decree is open for public comment before finalisation.
- Domtar said it is aware of the filed consent decree and will comment after the public comment period closes.
- Alleged dioxin, furan and mercury releases at the site date back to 1937.
- Weyerhaeuser operated the site from 1957 to 2007, when Domtar took over ownership and operation.
- A separate fish consumption advisory for mercury has been in place since 1997, in addition to the 1990 dioxin advisory.
- Plaintiffs include the US Department of the Interior and NOAA alongside North Carolina's Department of Environmental Quality.
- The USD 1.905m total splits into USD 1.75m for a federal restoration fund and USD 155,000 for trustee oversight costs
- A separate floodplain project would repair up to five culverts and reconnect three miles of stream channels
- Weyerhaeuser operated the Plymouth mill from 1957 to 2007, when Domtar acquired the site and assumed its environmental obligations
