The wife of a worker killed in Tuesday’s catastrophic chemical tank implosion at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging mill in Longview, Washington, called on state officials to demand complete transparency from the company as investigators began their work to determine what caused the disaster that has claimed at least two lives, with the death count expected to rise to at least 11.
According to Mackenzie Ammons, her husband, Jared Ammons, went into work early so he could make time to accompany her to a prenatal appointment. When he didn’t arrive, Mackenzie went with her sister, saw the first image of their unborn child, and returned home — not yet knowing her husband was already dead, killed when the mill’s 900,000-gallon white liquor tank ruptured. Governor Bob Ferguson has described the implosion as the deadliest industrial tragedy in modern Washington state history.
Ammons describes being haunted by conversations with her husband about what he described as dangerous conditions at the plant.
“He told me things,” she said. “He and his friends talked, and I heard that things weren’t right. I need the state to make sure that comes out.”
Her attorney, Simeon Osborn of Seattle-based Osborn Machler & Neff, said his firm will closely monitor the investigations conducted by the Washington Department of Labor and Industries, the state Department of Ecology, and the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, which opened a formal investigation into the incident on Wednesday. “If we think for a second that these investigations are lacking in any way, we stand ready to pursue the truth independently — for Mackenzie Ammons, and for every family involved in this tragedy,” Osborn said.
Osborn says he represents Ammons and has been in close contact with others involved in the incident, who all share similar concerns around the operation of the plant.
“The families of the men and women who will never come home from their Tuesday morning shift deserve a full, unvarnished accounting of what happened,” Osborn continued. “We will watch every step of these investigations to ensure that Nippon Dynawave does not attempt to create a protective narrative or shield itself from accountability. If there were safety issues, investigators must transparently produce those facts so that employees of the company and the Longview community get the answers and the accountability they deserve.”
“Jared Ammons went to work that morning with every intention of being there when he saw an image of his child for the first time,” Osborn added. “He never got that chance. The least this company can do is make sure his family gets the truth.”
Osborn Machler & Neff, based in Seattle, represents workers and families in serious injury and wrongful death cases.
For more information on Simeon Osborn and Osborn Machler & Neff, visit www.osbornmachler.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260528626626/en/
Media gallery
