Coroner attributes 10 deaths in Longview paper mill explosion to alkaline burns

The Cowlitz County Coroner’s Office released its findings on ten of the eleven people killed when a tank at the Nippon Dynawave paper mill in Longview, Washington, imploded on May 26. Autopsies performed on June 1 and 2 determined that eight victims died from alkaline chemical burns, while a 48-year-old man from Oregon succumbed to burns combined with blunt-force injuries and a 38-year-old Washington resident died from burns and asphyxia caused by aspiration of a foreign object. The eleventh victim, Dillon Miller, was examined by the Multnomah County Medical Examiner, which listed his cause of death as “sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide burns.”

All deaths were classified as accidental. The coroner’s office confirmed that next of kin have been notified and asked the public to respect the families’ privacy. Nippon Dynawave has not provided further details on the incident’s cause, and state and federal investigators continue their inquiry.