Washington, D.C. October 19, 2026 – The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (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 issued by the CSB stemming from the agency’s investigation of the fatal April 2021 explosion and fire at the company’s Columbus, Ohio resin plant.
The CSB made the safety recommendations to Yenkin-Majestic/OPC Polymers in November 2023, as a part of the agency’s final report on the massive explosion and fire. One employee died from burns and smoke inhalation due to the explosion and fire. 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.
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.
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 has not received any response from the company about the recommendations, despite numerous efforts made by the CSB to communicate with the company.
The CSB initially transmitted the safety recommendations to the company in a letter dated December 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.
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 February 5, 2026, to Mr. Smith to once again urge implementation of the recommendations. The company still did not respond.
On September 1, 2026, Yenkin-Majestic pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges relating to the April 2021 incident. Soon thereafter, on September 10, 2026, 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.
Executive Director Stephen Klejst stated, “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.”
CSB Chairperson Steve Owens added, “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/OC 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.”
The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating incidents and hazards that result, or may result, in the catastrophic release of extremely hazardous substances. The agency’s core mission activities include conducting incident investigations; formulating preventive or mitigative recommendations based on investigation findings and advocating for their implementation; issuing reports containing the findings, conclusions, and recommendations arising from incident investigations; and conducting studies on chemical hazards.
The agency's board members are appointed by the president subject to Senate confirmation. The Board does not issue citations or fines but makes safety recommendations to companies, industry organizations, labor groups, and regulatory agencies such as OSHA and EPA.
Please visit our website, www.csb.gov. For more information, contact External Affairs Director Hillary Cohen at [email protected].