AWPPW and Nippon Dynawave announce worker compensation updates following tanker implosion

LONGVIEW — In ongoing coordination between Nippon Dynawave Packaging and the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers Union (AWPPW), employees at the Longview facility are being notified of additional updates regarding compensation, scheduling, staffing, and operational planning as recovery, assessment, and limited operational activities continue following the fatal incident on May 26 at the […]
All 11 victims named in deadly Nippon Dynawave Tank rupture

LONGVIEW—One week after a massive chemical tank rupture at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging mill killed 11 workers in what Governor Bob Ferguson has called the deadliest industrial tragedy in modern Washington state history, all victims have been identified, and recovery efforts have shifted fully to investigation and long-term cleanup. The Cowlitz County Coroner’s Office on […]
1 Dead, 9 unaccounted for after Nippon Dynawave Packaging tank rupture

LONGVIEW—Emergency responders planned to resume recovery operations Wednesday at Nippon Dynawave Packaging, a southwest Washington packaging plant, where a tank filled with nearly 1 million gallons of a caustic industrial chemical ruptured, killing at least one worker, injuring nine others of which eight have been taken to area hospitals, and leaving nine employees unaccounted for. […]
Longview Community Support Shines as Family Assistance Center Thanks Heroes

LONGVIEW—The Family Assistance Center (FAC), the onsite Incident Management Team (IMT), and the AWPPW would like to express their sincere gratitude to the many agencies, organizations, businesses, and community members who have come together to support affected families, coworkers, first responders, and all those impacted by the Nippon Dynawave Packaging tank implosion. The IMT is proud […]
COMMENTARY: Amid the heartbreak of the Longview tragedy, a sense of gratitude

All of us who leave home for work do so with faith that we will come home safely. While we’re aware that some occupations carry more inherent risk, it’s easy to overlook how other jobs place our friends and neighbors in settings where they could be harmed in the event of a breakdown or wrong […]
Two now confirmed dead in what is being called Washington’s ‘deadliest industrial tragedy’

LONGVIEW — Recovery operations resumed Wednesday at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility where a tank filled with hundreds of thousands of gallons of a caustic industrial chemical ruptured Tuesday, as officials shifted focus from rescue to a deliberate search for nine missing workers while addressing environmental fallout from the spill. The death toll has now […]
New Workers’ Compensation Penalty Increases Hit July 1

OLYMPIA— Washington employers face higher penalties starting July 1, 2026, for violations of the state’s workers’ compensation laws as the Department of Labor & Industries applies a required inflation adjustment of 12.11 percent. The increases stem from a 2020 state law that raised long-stagnant penalty amounts for the first time in decades and ordered automatic […]