Longview paper company failed to fix chemical tank before implosion that killed 11, lawsuit alleges

Updated: Oct. 24, 2026, 3:15 p.m.

Published: Oct. 24, 2026, 11:59 a.m.

Damage is seen at Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co., after a tank containing hazardous liquid imploded, on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, in Longview, Wash. (Karen Ducey/The Seattle Times via AP)Karen Ducey/The Seattle Times vi

By Isabel Funk | The Oregonian/OregonLive

The families of two men who died in a May chemical tank implosion at Longview’s Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company facility have sued the company.

The lawsuit – filed Friday in Cowlitz County Circuit Court against Nippon and Weyerhaeuser, the company that originally built the paper mill – alleges that Nippon failed to act on multiple inspections that showed the tank was at risk of failure.

The lawsuit was brought by the families of Dillon Miller and Clinton “CJ” Doran, two of the 11 men who died after a tank holding a caustic chemical used in the paper-making process known as…