Yenkin Majestic Paint Corporation pleaded guilty in federal court in the Southern District of Ohio to negligent endangerment in connection with an April 8, 2021 explosion at its Columbus coatings and resin plant. The blast killed one employee, badly injured several others, and damaged the plant and nearby structures. The Justice Department announced the plea on September 4, 2026.
Key points
• Company: Yenkin Majestic Paint Corporation, operator of a coatings and resin plant in Columbus.
• Incident: Explosion at about 12:04 a.m. on April 8, 2021, during resin production in a steel vessel called Kettle 3.
• Harm: One employee died. Several others were severely injured. The plant and nearby buildings were damaged.
• Charge: Negligent endangerment.
• Court: U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio.
• Status: Guilty plea entered the week of the September 4, 2026 announcement. The Justice Department release does not list a fine or sentencing date.
What started the investigation
The criminal case grew out of the explosion itself and the multi-agency review that followed.
According to the Justice Department:
• In 2020 the company had a new top door, called a manway, fabricated and installed on Kettle 3. Installation was completed in December 2020.
• The kettle had a history of high pressure spikes. Prosecutors said the company never pressure-tested the new manway before putting the vessel back in service.
• The new manway began leaking right away. The company kept using Kettle 3 and added a thicker gasket. Officials said the company thought the gasket was Teflon. It was silicone.
• On April 8, 2021, the agitator inside Kettle 3 stopped, likely because of electrical work at the plant. Around midnight an operator, unaware it had stopped, turned it back on. Contents vaporized and pressure rose.
• The closed manway and gasket could not hold the pressure. Hot resin liquid and flammable solvent vapor escaped into the plant.
• Flammable gas detectors registered rising vapor levels but were not set to sound an audible alarm.
• At 12:04 a.m. the vapor cloud found an ignition source and exploded.
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board later documented the same sequence in its public investigation report. The CSB said one worker died from thermal injuries and inhalation of combustion products and was found in rubble on the second floor. Eight other employees were taken to hospitals. Injuries included third-degree burns and fractures. One worker later required a leg amputation after being crushed by debris. Twenty-one company employees were on site at the time.
OSHA opened a workplace safety investigation after the blast and in 2021 cited the company for alleged process-safety and related violations. EPA criminal agents, the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and the Ohio EPA Special Investigations Unit later built the federal criminal case, with OSHA support.
Local reporting has identified the worker who died as Wendell Light, a press room supervisor. That name does not appear in the Justice Department plea announcement. It has been published in Columbus-area coverage based on fire department and court-related reporting.
What the company was charged with
Yenkin Majestic pleaded guilty to negligent endangerment.
Prosecutors framed the charge around the company’s actions and inactions: putting a modified pressure vessel back into service without a pressure test, continuing to run a leaking manway, using the wrong gasket material, and operating flammable-gas detectors that would not sound an alarm. Officials said those failures created a manufacturing environment that caused a death and serious injuries.
The Justice Department release names the corporation. It does not announce charges against individual managers or employees.
Outcome
• The company pleaded guilty in federal court in the Southern District of Ohio.
• Officials who commented on the plea included Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II for the Southern District of Ohio, EPA Assistant Administrator Jeffrey A. Hall, Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson, and Ohio EPA Director John Logue.
• Prosecutors on the case are Senior Trial Attorney and Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Cullman and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Twombly.
• As of the September 4, 2026 announcement, the Justice Department had not published a criminal fine, probation term, or sentencing date in that release. Any later sentence would come from the federal court.
If you know of a similar workplace danger in Ohio, who do you report to?
If someone is hurt or a fire or chemical release is underway, call 911.
Federal workplace safety (private employers in Ohio)
OSHA requires employers to report a work-related death within 8 hours and an inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye within 24 hours. Workers and members of the public can also file a confidential safety complaint.
• OSHA 24-hour line: 1-800-321-6742 (1-800-321-OSHA)
• Online reporting and complaints: osha.gov/report and osha.gov/workers
