Explosion at a Finnish Paper Mill Tank

At the Stora Enso paper mill in Imatra, eastern Finland, a byproduct storage tank exploded, causing approximately 50 cubic meters of tall oil (a byproduct of the pulp industry) to leak and spread. Some of the oil entered the Lake Sema watershed via the mill’s drainage system. Tall oil contains components such as resin acids and fatty acids; if released in large quantities into water bodies, it consumes dissolved oxygen and poisons aquatic life, causing short-term ecological disruption to the lake.