Ventura Man Sentenced in Santa Clara Waste Water Explosion Case

VENTURA, California – District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced today that Kenneth Douglas Griffin, Jr. (DOB 7/04/95), of Ventura, was sentenced to serve seven months in custody and placed on formal probation for three years for his role in causing a 2014 explosion at Santa Clara Waste Water Company (“SCWWC”) in Santa Paula, California. Numerous SCWWC employees as well as first responders were injured either by the initial explosion or by inhaling a toxic cloud of chlorine gas generated by the illegal disposal of hazardous chemicals that were present on site.

Griffin was an on-site supervisor at SCWWC at the time of the explosion. Griffin was involved in moving chemicals from the SCWWC facility to an off-site storage lot to impede enforcement efforts by the Ventura County Environmental Health Division. Griffin also failed to warn employees of a serious concealed danger at the plant, specifically, the presence of a hazardous material known as sodium chlorite.  In addition, he failed to provide sufficient warning regarding chemicals that were mislabeled or entirely unlabeled at the SCWWC site.

Griffin is scheduled to begin serving his jail sentence on October 13, 2017. Griffin was also ordered to pay victim restitution in an amount to be determined upon further order of the court. Under terms and conditions of his formal grant of probation, Griffin is prohibited from being employed in any supervisory capacity over employees handling hazardous materials for a period of three years. This case was jointly prosecuted by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office and the California Attorney General’s Office.

The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office is the public prosecutor for the county’s 850,000 residents. The office employs approximately 280 employees including attorneys, investigators, victim advocates, and other professional support staff who strive to seek justice, ensure public safety, and protect the rights of crime victims.

Follow the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office on Twitter @VenturaDAOffice

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