Trump Moved to Eliminate Chemical Safety Board Before Deadly Spill Killed 11
June 05, 2026 | Source: Truthout | by Mike Ludwig
In photos taken from above, the collapsed tank at the Nippon Dynawave paper mill in Longview, Washington, looks like a crushed tin can. Capable of holding 900,000 gallons of chemicals, the massive tank was filled to 90 percent capacity when it ruptured on the morning of May 26.
Norman Barlow’s family says he worked as an electrical engineer at the Nippon mill for only three months before the collapsing tank released a wave of toxic fumes and liquid, killing Barlow and 10 other workers. The 58-year-old from Vancouver was already “trying to leave” the job due to “safety concerns” and “how the place was ran,” according to his daughter, Brooke Iverson.
“My dad was really just trying to get out of there as soon as he could,” Iverson said in an interview with KGW. Iverson said the families of the 11 victims deserve answers about how the nation’s latest chemical disaster could have been prevented.