Washington state's attorney general has been granted the authority to investigate one of the deadliest recent industrial disasters in the state. The office confirmed it can now look into the chemical implosion at the Nippon Dynawave facility in Longview that killed eleven workers in May.
The authority came in the form of what is known as concurrent jurisdiction, granted by the Cowlitz County Prosecutor's Office. That arrangement allows the state attorney general to work alongside local prosecutors on the case.
The disaster itself struck the Longview facility in May, when a chemical implosion killed eleven workers and injured dozens more. It has since become one of the most closely watched workplace tragedies in the region.
With the new authority, the attorney general's office says it will examine whether there was any criminal negligence or wrongdoing connected to the incident. The focus is on the circumstances that led to the deadly event.
At the same time, the office was careful to note that it is not raising any allegations at this stage. Instead, it framed its role as beginning a thorough examination of what happened, rather than accusing any party.
The office pointed to its own track record as the reason it is well suited to take on the case. It said it has significant expertise in matters involving industrial and environmental incidents, along with the specialized resources needed for a complex legal investigation.
For now, officials say they will not provide additional details about the inquiry. The move nonetheless marks a significant escalation, bringing the resources of the state to bear on a disaster that claimed eleven lives and left many families seeking answers.