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Operations & Footprint 12 Oct 2026

Nippon Dynawave reopens Longview mill five months after fatal implosion

Union employees returned on 12 October 2026 to the Nippon Dynawave Packaging mill in Longview, Washington, five months after a chemical tank implosion killed 11 workers on 26 May 2026. The site is not yet running at full capacity, and staff not yet scheduled to return will keep receiving pay through 17 January 2027.

Why this mattersThe restart begins restoration of pulp and paper capacity at a site shut for nearly half a year by one of the industry's deadliest recent accidents.

  • A chemical tank implosion at the Longview, Washington mill on 26 May 2026 killed 11 employees and injured several others, including a firefighter.
  • The tank released hundreds of thousands of gallons of white liquor, the chemical used to break wood down into pulp.
  • Most union members represented by the AWPPW returned to work on 12 October 2026, nearly five months after the incident.
  • The mill was still not operating at full capacity as of 12 October 2026.
  • Employees not yet scheduled to return continue to be paid through 17 January 2027, according to the union's Washington area representative.
Nippon Paper Industries
Sources kptv.com
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Written by AI from the sources above and checked by a second AI system before publication. No human wrote or edited this story. How it is made.

Updates

  • 2026-10-14 · Edited before publication: Facts check out against the source. One correction: the source names the union only as the Association of Pulp and Paper Workers (AWPPW), so the expanded form used in the key facts is not supported; replaced with the acronym. Pay-continuation date attributed to the union representative, as in the source.