‘Run til failure:’ Wrongful death suit claims tank fix was neglected at Longview plant
Sep 10, 2026, 7:18 AM
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
A wrongful death lawsuit filed against Nippon Dynawave, the company operating the plant at the site of a deadly tank failure in Longview, claims the company had a “policy” of running its equipment until it failed and that warning signs were ignored in the lead-up to the deadly disaster.
The suit is being filed on behalf of Mackenzie Ammons, the widow of Jared Ammons, who was one of 11 people killed when the tank ruptured on May 26.
Mackenzie said Jared had gone into work early that day in order to make it to their unborn baby’s first ultrasound appointment that afternoon. When she heard about the incident at the plant on social media, she started calling him.
He never answered his phone.
“I called around to all the hospitals and tried to find out if he was there, and I found out later that day that he was missing, and then even later that I found that nobody who was inside the building survived,” Ammons said. “It was very hard news to take. You wouldn’t expect this in your husband to work and not have him come home.”
Jared’s middle name was Ethan, and Mackenzie said she plans to name their son Ethan Jared Ammons. Her current due date is Christmas Eve.
Mackenzie came into their relationship with two kids of her own. Jared took care of them like they were his. He and Mackenzie coached her daughter’s basketball team together.
“He was honestly their biggest supporter. He never missed an event or even appointments of theirs,” she said.
Mackenzie said Jared had mentioned safety concerns at the plant before. He was looking for a new job, but it was tough to match the pay and the schedule that he had at Nippon.
Ammons is represented by Sim Osborn of Osborn, Machler & Neff and the Law Office of David Wieck. In the suit, it points to an inspection of the tank that Nippon Dynawave had contracted a technician company to inspect. The lawsuit says the contractor warned in July 2025, October 2025, and February 2025 that the tank holding the caustic white liquor had eroded to the point past minimum safety. The contractor noted a “high likelihood of failure.”
“Put simply, the tank was going to fail and employees would bear the brunt of that failure,” the suit read.
Osborn claims it was part of the company’s regular practice, based on conversations he and his investigators have had with workers.
“NDP’s decision not to take G tank out of service is consistent with NDP’s policy of “run to failure” (RTF), where structures and equipment were deliberately allowed to operate until they broke down completely before any repairs took place,” the suit read.
“They were asked several times to get this fixed. They had a bid to fix it. And they said, no, we’re going to continue to run it.” Osborn said.
KIRO7 reached out to Nippon Dynwave. The company said it is aware of the lawsuit but cannot comment on ongoing litigation, and said its focus is on compassion and support for the Longview Community.
Two weeks ago, the U.S Chemical Safety Board detailed the tank inspections and warnings about the potential for failure, saying it was “greatly concerned” about the finding. In response to that report, NDP president Matt Peerboom sent a message to employees.
“We are deeply disappointed by today’s release of an initial update into the CSB investigation, which failed to include important facts and context regarding actions taken by NDP and the timeline of events before the May 26th incident,” Peerboom said at the time.
Osborn said it was a business decision to keep the tank in operation, saying “employees paid for that business decision with their lives.”
The suit states plaintiffs will allow a jury to decide appropriate monetary damages. Mackenzie also wants them to fix any safety issues at the mill.
“That they fix everything and make it a safer place for other people to work so that way this doesn’t keep on happening again and they take accountability for all of it,” Ammons said.
