An Ohio corporation pleaded guilty this week in federal court in the Southern District of Ohio to a charge of negligent endangerment. The criminal charge is related to an explosion that resulted in the death of one employee and injuries to several more. Yenkin-Majestic Paint Corporation was a family-owned and operated coatings-industry supplier based in Columbus, Ohio. It has ceased all operations and sold its businesses to new owners, linked below.
Yenkin Majestic Paint Corporation operated a coatings and resin manufacturing facility in Columbus. As part of the resin manufacturing process, Yenkin would heat ingredients in large steel vessels known as “kettles.” In 2020 Yenkin decided to fabricate and install a new manway on the top of Kettle 3. Working in conjunction with a local fabrication company, Yenkin installed the new manway in December 2020. Despite several examples of Kettle 3 experiencing high-pressure spikes, Yenkin never pressure-tested the new manway before returning it to service. Once installed, it immediately began leaking. Nevertheless, Yenkin continued to utilize Kettle #3, opting instead to add a thicker gasket, which Yenkin erroneously believed to be made of Teflon (but was actually silicone).
On April 8, 2021, Yenkin was in the process of producing a resin in Kettle #3. Unbeknownst to the operator, the agitator inside Kettle 3 had stopped, likely due to electrical work Yenkin was conducting at the time. Around midnight, the operator turned the agitator back on, causing the contents to vaporize and increasing the pressure inside the kettle. Moments later, Kettle 3’s closed manway and gasket could no longer contain the pressure and began to release a mixture of hot resin liquid and flammable solvent vapor into the resin plant and then into adjacent operating areas of the plant.
Multiple flammable gas detectors inside the facility detected increasing concentrations of flammable vapors during the release. However, the flammable gas detectors were not configured to sound an audible alarm. At 12:04 a.m., the released flammable vapors found an ignition source and exploded, which led to the death of one employee and severe injuries to several others. The explosion also damaged the resin plant and nearby structures.
“When safety protocols aren’t followed, pressurized equipment can cause terrible accidents like the tragedy at Yenkin in 2021,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Energy and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “The company is pleading guilty to negligent endangerment, because their actions, or inactions, created a manufacturing environment that resulted in death and severe injury. Our hope in highlighting this case is that other manufacturers will vigilantly protect the safety of their workers and properly operate their equipment.”