Rescuers find six more bodies after US chemical spill

LOS ANGELES – US authorities have found six more bodies following a chemical leak at a paper plant in Washington state, an official said on May 28, with three of a total 11 victims still missing.

A huge tank holding tens of thousands of litres of a highly caustic substance imploded on May 26 at the plant in Longview, Washington state, sparking a major operation.

Rescuers had initially confirmed two people were dead, and ruled out finding survivors as the search turned to recovering victims’ remains.

Mr Brad Hannig, fire chief of Longview Fire Department, told a news conference that six more bodies had been found, bringing the total confirmed dead to eight.

“We continue working with the coroner to notify families,” he said.

Rescuers are working in an “active and hazardous recovery environment” to find the remaining victims’ bodies, Mr Hannig said.

The accident at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company happened during an early morning shift change when a 3.4 million-litre tank containing a large quantity of a substance called white liquor ruptured.

White liquor is a highly alkaline solution containing sodium hydroxide and sodium sulphide that is used to break down wood chips and create the pulp from which paper is made.

Officers sought to reassure the public that drinking water and air around the site were not contaminated.

“Longview’s water is safe,” Mr Chris Collins, the city’s public works director, told the news conference.

Mr Brooks Stanfield, a federal on-site officer from the Environmental Protection Agency, said that monitoring had not detected hydrogen sulphide or any other air contaminants that may have been a cause for concern.

Nippon Dynawave Packaging, which is a subsidiary of Japan’s Nippon Paper Group, says on its website that it produces eight billion single-serve containers every year, supplying customers in North America, Asia, and around the world. AFP