Longview officials: crews recover seventh victim; agencies report no hazardous air detections and say drinking water is safe

Longview officials said Thursday that recovery operations at an industrial site continued and that multiagency monitoring has found no hazardous air detections while the city's drinking water supply remains safe.

"Our entry crews have recovered a 7th individual from the scene," said Brad Hannonig, Longview fire chief, who opened the briefing by stressing responder safety and dignity for victims as recovery expands into areas previously inaccessible.

Why it matters: officials said the incident remains an active hazardous-environment response that affects victims' families, responders and the local community. The EPA, state ecology staff and the city described near-term public-safety steps — continued air and water monitoring, signage and limited site access — and said they are coordinating cleanup plans with the company and tribal and wildlife partners.

Matt Amos, Longview Fire battalion chief overseeing on-scene operations, described mitigation work that used vacuum trucks, hoses and contractors to remove fluids that had impeded access. "We still continue to have numerous local, regional, state, and federal agencies working with us continually," Amos said, and added crews are working "very slowly and methodically" to preserve evidence and protect responders.

Brooks Stanfield, the U.S. EPA federal on-scene coordinator, said federal teams are conducting 24-hour air monitoring at the facility and in the surrounding community. "To date, we continue to report that we have had no detections of harmful gases," Stanfield said, adding that the public will be notified if hazardous air conditions are detected.

State on-scene coordinator Courtney Surad of the Washington Department of Ecology said there are currently no fish or recreational advisories for the Columbia River and that the agency has collected 23 dead fish from the ditch network (carp, catfish and bluegill) for analysis. "At this time, there are no fish advisories or recreational advisories for the Columbia River, and fishing and recreational activities in the Columbia River have been determined to be safe and continue to be safe," Surad said, and she urged residents not to handle dead fish and to report observations to the incident hotline.

Chris Collins, Longview public works director, said the city's drinking water remains safe. "Longview's drinking water remains safe," Collins said, while acknowledging some residents may notice odors caused by low-level hydrogen sulfide as flushing and pumping continue. Collins advised people to stay out of ditches, keep pets away from ditch water and seek medical attention for abnormal conditions. He also said water will be drawn down from Lake Sacajawea over the coming days to support flushing efforts.

Officials said EPA, Ecology and the company (Nippon) have begun mapping a cleanup plan that will run alongside ongoing investigations. When asked about the cause of the tank rupture, officials repeatedly said it is too early to estimate a cause and that multiple agencies on site are preserving evidence and working together on the analysis.

Union representative Josh Estes of the Association of Western Pulp and Paperworkers said the union is working to ensure Spanish-speaking employees and families are receiving information; Ecology said it had expanded signage along ditch networks and was translating information into Spanish and Chuukese where possible.

The press conference closed with the incident public information officer saying a media folder on the incident web page will be updated with photos and video and that the agencies will continue to post updates; officials asked media to direct additional questions to the incident contact listed on the department incident page.

The agencies emphasized that recovery and cleanup work will continue as safety allows, and that investigators will release further details on the cause when analysis is complete.