Cowlitz County health officer: 600,000 gallons of alkaline 'white liquor' released in Nippon DynaWave incident; monitoring found no hazardous water or air dete

LONGVIEW / COWLITZ COUNTY — Dr. Steve Kreger, Cowlitz County health officer, told the Board of Health that the industrial failure at the Nippon DynaWave facility released roughly 600,000 gallons of a highly alkaline industrial fluid known as "white liquor," caused widespread damage and led to 11 deaths and multiple injuries.

Kreger said white liquor is an alkaline pulping chemical with a pH near 13 that can be corrosive and, when released with facility water, spread rapidly across asphalt into dikes, ditches and flood-control systems. To prevent contamination of the Columbia River and Longview’s well supplies, the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Ecology, city public works, the Consolidated Diking Improvement District, tribal partners and other agencies coordinated to flush the dikes and ditches and monitor pH and air quality at discharge points.

"About 600,000 gallons of a substance called white liquor was released," Kreger said. "We had continuous water monitoring for contamination and then air monitoring. To our knowledge the drinking water in Longview did not detect contamination."

Kreger described hydrogen sulfide — the "rotten egg" smell many residents noticed — and explained that at very low levels people can smell hydrogen sulfide before instruments register it; monitoring for hydrogen sulfide and particulate matter did not produce readings that approached harmful thresholds during the response. He said rapid flushing and close interagency coordination allowed officials to remove the majority of contaminated water from dikes and ditches and to discharge diluted water to the Columbia River while monitoring the outfall for safe pH levels. Fish kills were observed in the ditches but broader wildlife impacts appeared limited, he said.

Kreger emphasized that the county’s role was largely supportive and communicative — Department of Ecology and federal partners held primary environmental authority — but praised first responders and local health-care partners, including St. John’s, for their work during recovery and medical response.

Board members pressed for details on remediation steps such as pumping out contaminated water. Kreger said in some locations the dike/ditch volumes were too great to allow pumping and that dilution and controlled flushing toward monitored outfalls was the practical approach. He also noted uncertainty about how quickly, if at all, contamination could migrate to deep municipal wells, as that depends on soil permeability and depth to aquifer.

During public comment the board received a separate set of assertions alleging a link between mRNA COVID vaccines and increased cancer risk, citing a recent U.S. Senate hearing. Board members and Dr. Kreger said the question is complex and outside the board’s regulatory remit; they recommended vigilance, attention to peer-reviewed evidence and preserving the clinician–patient relationship for individual medical decisions.

The Board of Health recessed after a brief discussion of lessons learned from the incident and debriefing efforts among local first responders and health partners. The board adjourned at 10:35 a.m.

What’s next: County and state partners continue monitoring the environmental impacts and the county will follow up on communications and after-action learning from the response.