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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.

However, the Trump administration has asked Congress to eliminate the only independent federal agency that investigates major chemical accidents while systemically rolling back environmental regulations, including rules designed to protect communities from toxic spills. New polling suggests a bipartisan majority of voters are increasingly worried about toxic chemicals and want stronger federal protection from air and water pollution, which can increase health care costs.

“Nippon’s time is coming,” Iverson said. “They’re on a clock now — a clock of answers, a clock of what happens now.”

Residents of Polluted Areas Say Trump’s Rollbacks Are “Getting Really Scary”

The paper mill is a major employer in Longview, a community now in mourning. The tank contained a toxic byproduct known as “white liquor” that burns human skin on contact. The chemical killed more than 2,000 fish after spilling into local waterways and the Columbia River, but officials have said drinking water is safe. It took days for crews to clean up the toxic spill and remove the victims. State and federal investigations are ongoing, leaving neighbors and families to wait for answers.

The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board opened an investigation and dispatched a team to Longview on May 27, one day after the incident. Congress created the independent federal watchdog in 1990 to hold polluters accountable and recommend safety improvements after major industrial accidents, which are alarmingly common in the United States.

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