'Mass Casualty Scene' at Washington Paper Mill Multiple workers dead, missing, or injured after chemical tank ruptures

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

US |
Washington state
'Mass Casualty Scene' at Washington Paper Mill
Multiple workers dead, missing, or injured after chemical tank ruptures

The rupture of a chemical tank at a southwest Washington paper mill Tuesday morning left multiple workers dead or missing and others critically injured, authorities say. The Longview Fire Department initially said there was a "major chemical explosion" involving a vat of white liquor, a highly caustic pulp-processing chemical, at the Nippon Dynawave plant in Longview around 7:18am. Authorities later said there had been an "implosion involving a vat of chemical treatment product," the New York Times reports. Several people suffered severe chemical burns and other injuries and were taken to hospitals in Longview and Vancouver. Officials said there had been fatalities but they declined to disclose the number of dead and missing at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

https://www.newser.com/story/389863/deadly-tank-rupture-hits-washington-paper-mill.html

[Grokenstein]

1. This comes right after Orange County, CA dodged a similar disaster

Aging infrastructure?
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chemical-tank-southern-california-what-we-know-rcna346822

[BidenRocks]

4. A smaller explosion is still possible.

Still, many are living in shelters.
The state has set up voting areas with registrars, info and ballots.
I love that California wants you to vote!

[slightlv]

8. Being in the Midwest and not familiar with the West all that much,

I wondered if these were two separate events or if they were somehow related. So much for deregulation, eh?

[Warpy]

11. Once is probably an accident

Twice, especially in close proximity in time and/or location, is a terrible coincidence.

Three times is enemy action.

(very loosely paraphrased from "Goldfinger )

damn smilies

[montanacowboy]

2. Jesus we drive past that plant

on our way down to Oregon beaches
It's a huge place

[LuvLoogie]

3. Sabotage.

Right wing bunker monkey preppers.

That'd be my guess.

[BidenRocks]

6. Often it is the small valve or gauge that fails.

These tanks need to be enclosed in some type of blast containment and have materials neutralization for after the boom.
I am thinking an accelerator like Super glues have. Instant solid.

[Mysterian]

10. More likely republican deregulation

and lax / non-existent safety standards.

[groundloop]

5. This will only become more common as tRump's cuts to OSHA kick in

[calimary]

7. Oh NO!!!

“Officials said there had been fatalities…”

Oh Dear God. I hope those fatalities happened quickly. Less suffering that way (at least I think so).

[JT45242]

9. White liquor is nasty stuff...

It is sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide. Both nasty and very dangerous when inhaled.

I thought it might be the sulfuric acid solutions but that comes later in the process to neutralize those bases.

Paper processing uses some extremely dangerous chemicals.