Longview millworkers get paid, but suppliers struggle in disaster’s wake

July 17, 2026 at 9:05 am | Updated July 17, 2026 at 4:51 pm


Updated aerial views from July 11 of the tank that imploded in May at Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. in Longview. Eleven workers were killed when the tank, filled with a chemical liquid, collapsed. (Karen Ducey / The Seattle Times)

By Paul Roberts
Seattle Times business reporter

Hundreds of workers at the Longview paper mill that was closed by a deadly accident in May will continue to receive full wages, the company announced Friday. ... “We will be paying staff through October 11, whether they are instructed to come in or not,” a Nippon Dynawave Packaging spokesperson said in a statement Friday morning about workers idled by the May 26 spill of highly caustic liquid that left 11 dead.

But company officials, state regulators and union officials still don’t have a timeline for restarting the massive facility, which produces materials used to manufacture paper cups, cartons and other products. ... One huge unknown: how an already complex restart process is being complicated by the investigation into the catastrophic failure of the 900,000-gallon tank that stored a caustic material known as white liquor.

“We are working with Nippon to make sure evidence relevant to our investigation is preserved as they go through their process to restart,” said Matt Ross, spokesperson for the state Department of Labor and Industries, which is overseeing the investigation. ... That means continued uncertainty not only for the mill’s roughly 500 employees, but also for the larger community of local companies that supplied wood chips the mill used for raw material.

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Paul Roberts: proberts@seattletimes.com. Paul Roberts covers business and economics for The Seattle Times.