Longview Crews Search for 3 Missing After 500,000-Gallon White Liquor Spill

15 articles · Updated · KATU · May 29

Three people remained missing Thursday as recovery teams made only limited entries into the Longview blast site, where unstable structures and hazardous chemicals have slowed the search.
Drones are surveying the damaged tank area before workers go in, with engineers reviewing video to determine whether sections are safe enough for rescue and recovery crews.
More than 500,000 gallons of toxic white liquor spilled when a 900,000-gallon tank that was about 60% full imploded during Tuesday's shift change, and some of the chemical reached nearby drainage systems.
Officials are pumping in water to dilute the caustic liquid before routing it through ditches toward the Columbia River; at least a dozen dead fish have been found, though authorities say the public is not at risk.
Friends and relatives identified the three still missing as Braydon Finkas, C.J. Doran and John Forseburg, underscoring the human toll as the broader death count from the Nippon Dynawave disaster stands at eight.

Given the plant's known safety violations, was Washington's deadliest industrial disaster preventable?

What caused the catastrophic chemical tank failure, and could it happen again elsewhere?