(CNN) — Search crews will renew efforts Wednesday to find nine people still missing a day after a deadly chemical tank rupture at a paper plant in southwestern Washington state.

At least one person was killed and nine people were injured after a 900,000-gallon tank containing a hazardous chemical mixture ruptured Tuesday morning at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. facility in Longview. About 90,000 gallons of material could still be inside the damaged tank, officials said.

The tank contained a mixture called white liquor, which is used in paper-making processes and can cause severe burns when it comes into contact with skin.

Recovery efforts were delayed Tuesday evening due to safety concerns. The tank was unstable late Tuesday, creating hazardous conditions for emergency responders, said Scott Goldstein, chief of a Cowlitz County fire district.

So local, regional and state agencies were working with facility staff to “reinforce and stabilize the site” to help with recovery efforts, which could safely resume Wednesday morning, fire officials said in a release.

There is no threat to the surrounding community, but people should avoid the area, the Longview Fire Department said.

The rupture is the latest in a spate of incidents at industrial facilities, mills and plants in recent months – some of which have been deadly.

The Washington state incident took place around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. facility, which produces pulp used to make paper products and paperboard for items like cartons and cups.

The injured include eight employees and one firefighter, who was treated and released, fire officials said Tuesday. Earlier in the day, officials said “there were fatalities” related to an implosion.

Details about how the rupture happened weren’t immediately available. CNN has sought comment from Nippon Dynawave Packaging about the incident.

The rupture in Longview came less than a week after officials in Southern California raced to prevent an overheating chemical tank from exploding, prompting tens of thousands of residents to evacuate. A crack in the tank eased pressure in the tank, eliminating the risk of a catastrophic blast.

In April, a chemical leak involving nitric acid and another substance at a West Virginia plant killed two people and injured more than a dozen others, The Associated Press reported.

Last October, more than 24,000 pounds of explosives detonated at a Tennessee explosives plant, killing 16 employees. The blast was so powerful, it registered as a 1.6 magnitude earthquake.

Two months before that, an explosion at a US Steel plant in Pennsylvania killed two workers and injured more than 10 others, one of whom was trapped in rubble, the AP reported.

Burn patients hospitalized

PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center initially received nine patients from the Longview facility, including one person who died and four others who were transferred to a burn center in Portland, the hospital said.

Three patients were later discharged from PeaceHealth St. John, and one patient remained in fair condition, spokesperson Jim Murez said.

Longview is about 50 miles north of Portland, Oregon, and about 130 miles south of Seattle.

Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. employs about 1,000 people at its pulp-and-paper mill and packaging plant. The facility treats its wastewater and sends it to the Columbia River, according to Washington’s Department of Ecology.

Air and water quality tested

The state’s Department of Ecology has a spills team on site to monitor air and water quality, spokesperson Brittny Goodsell said Tuesday.

While responders have not detected a spike in air quality issues, another air monitoring team is headed to the site to support the efforts, Goodsell said.

“We currently don’t have concerns for public health outside of the scene at this time,” she said.

State officials will be at the site “to do everything we can to help the situation, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said Tuesday.

Community members gathered Tuesday evening in Longview for a vigil honoring the victims and those still missing. Some held candles as they bowed their heads in prayer. Faith leaders led prayers for families and first responders, urging unity.

“We’re here this evening because when one of us grieves, we all grieve,” said the Rev. Mark Schmutz, senior pastor of Northlake Church.

Longview resident Crystal Moldenhauer told the AP she has friends who work at the plant and remained unaccounted for. She described a stressful day of people calling and texting each other trying to figure out what happened.

“We’re all still waiting for answers. … There’s families that have been torn apart, and we don’t know why,” she said.

What is white liquor?

White liquor is a chemical mixture used to break down wood chips during the paper-making process. The liquid is highly caustic and can cause second- and third-degree burns upon contact with skin, Longview fire Battalion Chief Matt Amos said Tuesday.

Inhaling concentrated vapor around the liquid can also be dangerous, though it primarily acts as an irritant when in the air, he added.

About 500,000 gallons of liquid were released and mixed with water from a ruptured on-site fire main, all of which “is remaining on site,” Goldstein said.

Officials saw “an initial increase in the pH level” in a few nearby waterways and shut down dike system pumps in those areas “to keep it contained there,” Goldstein said, asking residents to avoid dikes and ditches between Washington Way and Prudential Boulevard.

Open inspections are unrelated

The site is the subject of two ongoing inspections that started before the rupture and are unrelated to the event, according to the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries.

One was opened in March after the department received an anonymous complaint about concerns “about a valve on an aqua ammonia clarifier tank,” which is not the same tank that ruptured, according to the agency.

The other was opened in May after a complaint about a sinkhole created by a failed drain, the agency said.

State officials cited the site for violations after three other inspections in the last five years that were not related to “chemical process or storage safety” but had to do with fall protection and failure to wear face coverings, the agency said.

One of the violations involved the employer not ensuring “employees were provided a workplace free from recognized hazards causing, or are likely to cause, serious injury or death,” the inspection report said.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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