LONGVIEW, Wash. – Following a tank implosion and chemical spill at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co., the Washington National Guard mobilized Soldiers and Airmen to support first responders with air monitoring, decontamination and facility search-and-recovery operations.
A tank implosion at the Longview, Washington facility about 7:15 a.m. May 26 released an estimated 600,000 gallons of white liquor, a highly corrosive substance containing sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide, creating a complex and hazardous environment for emergency responders.
“Elements of the Washington National Guard have deployed to the Longview, Washington, area to assist local responders in the response and recovery of the large-scale mass casualty chemical spill yesterday,” said Maj. Gen. Gent Welsh, the adjutant general of the Washington National Guard, in a social media post.
At the direction of Gov. Bob Ferguson and Welsh, the Washington National Guard deployed a 22-member team from the 10th Civil Support Team and 28 personnel from the 10th Homeland Response Force under state active duty orders to assist civilian authorities with life-saving operations and decontamination efforts at the site in Cowlitz County.
The Guard’s response included highly specialized units trained to operate in hazardous environments and support large-scale emergency operations. Within hours, the 10th Civil Support Team arrived on scene to provide technical expertise and advisory support, as well as assist the Washington Department of Ecology with air monitoring operations.
By the morning of May 27, Soldiers from the 10th Homeland Response Force established a Joint Task Force to provide command and control of Guard elements operating from the Longview Armory, while also supporting integration with civilian emergency management and response agencies.
The 420th Chemical Battalion, Washington Army National Guard, activated decontamination teams and deployed specialized equipment to assist with chemical hazard mitigation and mass decontamination operations for first responders exiting the incident area. Later that afternoon, eight Airmen from the 141st Air Refueling Wing, Washington Air National Guard, arrived with a fatality search and recovery team to support recovery operations with dignity and respect.
Additional Guard medical personnel and chaplains also mobilized to support responders and affected personnel, providing medical care, resiliency support and spiritual services throughout ongoing operations.
“Our Soldiers and Airmen train for complex emergencies like this,” said Lt. Col. Tai Hongo, chief of staff for the 10th Homeland Response Force. “They take proper precautions to ensure the safety of first responders and our Guardsmen.”
Search and recovery operations began the afternoon of May 27, as Guardsmen established and validated decontamination procedures.
“Once we got that up and running, making sure that it's all set up correctly and working, then we can ensure that people could start going and doing their jobs and then coming out of the suit properly,” said Staff Sgt. Horace Brantley, team leader for the 792nd Chemical Company’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and high-yield explosive, or CBRNE, Enhanced Response Force Package, a part of the 10th Homeland Response Force.
Brantley noted that initial setup required careful validation before operations could fully begin.
“Right before we fully got started, we wanted to know what type of suits that they were in and if it was going to be soluble enough to save those suits, because with the sodium, we want to make sure that it wasn't going to be fully absorbed into the suit,” Brantley said. “We were able to test with the pH and make sure that it's within a safe level.”
As of May 29, Guardsmen remained on site, supporting ongoing decontamination operations and assisting search-and-recovery teams.
“We will be here for as long as it takes to help this community,” Welsh said.