A Business in Vancouver investigation says Howe Sound Pulp & Paper in Port Mellon, B.C. raised output by almost a third in 2016, to 1,800 t/day, without the gas-collection upgrades an engineering report had recommended. Workers were then repeatedly exposed to methyl mercaptan and hydrogen sulphide leaks between 2016 and 2022, including at least 77 people during commissioning in 2017. WorkSafeBC fined the mill $320,952 in 2017 and issued 145 orders over a decade. Domtar says its lost-time injury rate has fallen 75% since 2017 (Castanet / BIV)
Update: Nippon Dynawave Packaging has asked a Washington state judge to dismiss a wrongful-death suit over the May tank collapse at its Longview mill, which killed 11. The company argues that the state's workers' compensation law blocks the claim (Law360)
Update: RYAM's Témiscaming, Que. mill stopped production on Oct. 3–4, after extra orders had pushed back the original Sept. 15 date, and about 300 workers are affected. The mill can make 180,000 tpy of folding boxboard and 290,000 tpy of high-yield pulp. Unifor says it will look at ways to restart the mill, and the mayor wants government aid scaled to the 50% U.S. tariffs (EUWID, Paper Advance)
Forestry & Timber
Allotrope Cellulosic Development Co. plans a ~US$550M biorefinery on a former sawmill site near Anderson, Calif. (Shasta County). It would turn forest-thinning residue and orchard wood into ethanol, RNG and bioplastics, which the company says would drive thinning on 10,000–20,000 acres a year and create ~200 permanent jobs. The project has a USDA loan guarantee but is not yet fully financed or permitted, and construction is targeted for late 2027 or early 2028 (KRCR)
Weyerhaeuser now has U.S. distribution rights for TimberHP's TimberBatt and TimberBoard wood-fiber insulation through the lumber and building-materials channel. TimberHP makes both products from residual softwood fiber at the former Madison, Maine paper mill (Paper Advance)
Poland's State Forests plans to offer 37.7M m³ of timber in 2027, slightly more than this year. New sales rules will add tighter checks on buyers' processing declarations, and processors say margins remain weak (Global Wood Markets Info)
Update: The comment period on repealing the Roadless Rule drew more than 370,000 online comments. An analysis by the Center for Western Priorities found 99% oppose the repeal. The Alaska Forest Association estimates that only ~188,000 roadless acres in the Tongass (<2%) would be suitable for logging under the 2016 plan. A final decision is expected by the end of 2026 (Alaska Public Media)
Japan's softwood lumber imports fell 29.4% year on year in August to 242,792 m³, and shipments from Sweden and Finland were each down by more than a third (Global Wood Markets Info)
Sveza's Boris Frenkel said at an Oct. 7 industry session in Moscow that Russia's timber sector could return to growth in 2027, once the crisis peaks in 2026 (Global Wood Markets Info)
Wood Pellets
Drax's data-centre plans at Selby are under pressure. The NRDC estimates that running a ~1.1 GW campus on biomass would take ~4.9M t of wood and emit ~8.6M t of CO₂ a year. The Times reports that the government has rejected an AI Growth Zone designation for the site and that North Yorkshire Council no longer backs it. Drax disputes the NRDC figures and is preparing a planning application for a ~100 MW first phase (Data Centre Review)
Industry Technology Vendors
Maflex — Launched the LADON Evo log saw for tissue converting. Compared with the LADON Plus (up to 120 cuts/min), it cuts up to 15% faster, has 27% fewer components, has 32% less blade-shaft play and doubles clamp contact points to six (PULPAPERnews)
