Yenkin-Majestic fails to respond to CSB recommendations

The CSB said today that Yenkin-Majestic/OPC Polymers has failed so far to implement - or even substantively respond to - any of the five safety recommendations it issued.

The agency issued the recommendations in Nov. 2023 as a part of its final report on its investigation into a fatal April 2021 explosion and fire at the company’s Columbus, Ohio resin plant.

One employee died from burns and smoke inhalation. Eight others were transported to area hospitals for injuries suffered during the explosion, fire, and building collapse, including third-degree burns and limb fractures, with one employee requiring a leg amputation after being crushed under collapsed debris.

Vapor cloud just before the explosion. Source: U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board

Untested pressure vessel, deficient emergency plan

The CSB determined that the cause of the catastrophic incident was the installation of a reactor manway cover on an operating kettle that was not properly designed, constructed, or tested, and the company’s failure to adhere to basic pressure vessel integrity quality assurance practices.

A mixture of flammable naphtha solvent vapors and resin liquid had become pressurized and was released through the seal of the manway, forming a flammable vapor cloud that found an ignition source, resulting in the explosion and fire.

Additionally, the company did not have an adequate emergency preparedness plan, and its emergency training was deficient.

Employees were not given adequate notice to evacuate the facility due to the lack of audible and visual alarms, and the company did not require employees to wear flame-resistant uniforms that would protect them from fire hazards.

No response since first letter sent in 2023

The CSB issued five recommendations to Yenkin-Majestic/OPC Polymers to address these serious issues and help prevent future incidents at the facility. To date, however, the CSB said it has not received any response from the company about the recommendations, despite numerous efforts made by the agency to communicate with the company.

“This deadly incident should never have happened, and the safety recommendations are intended to help prevent a catastrophic event like this from happening again. Unlike Yenkin-Majestic/OPC Polymers, most companies willingly implement the safety recommendations from the CSB’s investigations. We urge Yenkin-Majestic/OPC Polymers to respond constructively and take action toward implementing these important recommendations,” said Steve Owens, CSB Chairperson.

The CSB initially transmitted the safety recommendations to the company in a letter dated Dec. 4, 2023 to Andrew O. Smith, the company’s President and CEO at the time.

At the time of the incident, the company had three divisions at its Columbus facility: Majic Paints, Yenkin-Majestic Industrial Coatings, and OPC Polymers. The explosion and fire occurred in the OPC Polymers facility.

In addition to being a division of Yenkin-Majestic, OPC Polymers is also a stand-alone company, which often referred to itself as Yenkin-Majestic/OPC Polymers. Mr. Smith became the Executive Chairman of OPC Polymers LLC in early 2023.

Bowing on the new manway lid in January 2021. Source: U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board

Company pleads guilty to criminal charges

After the CSB’s several attempts to communicate with Yenkin-Majestic/OPC Polymers were met with silence from the company for more than two years, the CSB’s Director of Recommendations sent another letter dated Feb. 5, 2026, to Mr. Smith to once again urge implementation of the recommendations. The company still did not respond.

On Sept. 1, Yenkin-Majestic pleaded guilty to a federal criminal charge relating to the incident. Soon thereafter, on Sept.10, the CSB’s Executive Director of Investigations and Recommendations, Stephen Klejst, sent yet another letter urging the company to communicate with the CSB and implement the five safety recommendations. The company never responded.

“Yenkin-Majestic/OPC Polymers’ continued unresponsiveness and failure to implement the CSB’s safety recommendations seems to demonstrate a serious disregard for the safety of the company’s workers and is especially disturbing in light of the company’s recent guilty plea,” Klejst said.

According to Yenkin-Majestic’s website, the company ceased all operations Aug. 18 and sold its operational businesses to OPC Polymers, as well as Majic Paints and Jamestown Coating Technologies. It issued a statement to creditors and claimants.