Nippon Dynawave to fight $77,800 state fine after pulp spill at Longview mill

A Longview mill worker sank to his chest in hot pulp in March, and now his employer is fighting the resulting penalty.

The incident unfolded after a valve at Nippon Dynawave Packaging's Longview, Washington, pulp mill was left open, spilling pulp across the ground, according to the Washington Department of Labor and Industries. The worker waded into the thick liquid, measured at 145 degrees Fahrenheit, and moved to shut the valve. Midway through, he stepped into an unseen sinkhole four feet deep that the flow had carved into the ground. Pulp rose around him to a depth of seven feet. The worker told inspectors he thought, "I'm not going to make it back." He found a foothold against the sinkhole wall and climbed out.

Managers at the Longview mill told state inspectors that spills of that kind occurred every couple of months. Labor and Industries cited Nippon Dynawave for exposing a worker to "serious thermal and engulfment hazards" and for lacking a formal program to inspect and maintain the pipes that carry hot pulp. The penalty totals $77,800. An unnamed company spokesperson said by email, "We take all workplace incidents very seriously," and described an internal investigation and corrective steps. The spokesperson did not supply a name. No one was hurt in the March spill.

The sinkhole episode came two months before the mill's far deadlier failure. In May, a caustic white liquor tank impoded, killing 11 workers and injuring eight others. State and federal agencies are still examining that spill, the worst industrial accident in Washington in nearly 100 years. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board issued a preliminary finding in August stating that Nippon Dynawave continued operating the 1.2-million-gallon tank for close to a year after warnings that it was no longer fit for service.

Nippon Dynawave has said it will appeal the $77,800 penalty. The Labor and Industries inquiry has widened beyond this mill: investigators are now examining chemical use and storage at 10 pulp mills across Washington state.

The May white liquor tank failure and the March pulp incident remain under investigation.