Ten Safety Performance Awards recently were presented to Air Products by the European Industrial Gas Association (EIGA), a safety-orientated organization that represents the vast majority of European companies producing industrial, medical and food gases. Our sites at Botlek (Netherlands) and Gent (Belgium) received Gold awards in recognition of 20 years without any employee lost-time incidents and for one million (Botlek) and 2.5 million (Gent) employee hours worked. EIGA also recognized three Air Products sites with Silver awards and five with Bronze awards.

Air Products (Fujian) in China won a safety award from the Fujian Administration of Work Safety (Mawei District) for advocating and implementing safe work processes in their operations. The entity was also recognized for its commitment to emphasizing safety education and training, and its success in building up a safety culture among employees.

Air Products' HYCO plant in Tarragona, Spain has been given a prestigious award by General Electric (GE). The GE Return on Environment (ROE) Award 2006, recognized the plant's outstanding environmental leadership and operational savings, which resulted in significant reductions in water and energy used.

Air Products Selected as a Component of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes-2005
For the second consecutive year, Air Products was included in the prestigious Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI), reflecting the company's commitment to corporate responsibility in its day-to-day operations. The DJSI track the economic, environmental and social performance of the world's 2,500 biggest companies in 36 countries across 60 industry groups. After being assessed against general and industry-specific sustainability criteria, only the top 10 percent of companies make the grade.

Air Products Included in the FTSE4Good Index
In its latest review (September 2004), FTSE Group again included Air Products in its prestigious FTSE4Good Index Series for meeting stringent corporate responsibility standards. The FTSE4Good indices provide a tool for socially responsible investors to identify and invest in companies that meet globally recognized environmental, social, and stakeholder criteria. More information is available at www.ftse.com/ftse4good/index.jsp.

Air Products Included in the Calvert Social, Domini 400 and Ethibel Sustainability indices
In 2004, Air Products continued to be included in several sustainability indices, including the Calvert Social, Domini 400 and Ethibel indices. Like DJSI and FTSE4Good, these indices help investors evaluate companies that support the principles of sustainable development.

Air Products Named to Business Ethics Magazine's 100 Top Corporate Citizens list
For the third consecutive year, Air Products was named to Business Ethics Magazine's 100 Best Corporate Citizens list. The 2004 listing recognized companies among the Russell 1000-the largest publicly traded companies-that "excel at serving a variety of stakeholders well." The ranking was based on quantitative measures of corporate service to seven stakeholder groups: stockholders, employees, customers, the community, the environment, overseas stakeholders, and women and minorities.

Air Products Ranked Safest Large-Scale Chemical Company in the American Chemistry Council for the Fifth Consecutive Year
Air Products exceeded its prior year's safety performance and was ranked safest among large-scale chemical companies in the American Chemistry Council (ACC) in 2003. This was the fifth consecutive year Air Products topped the list of firms in the large-company grouping (20 million or more employee hours worked per year) for one or more safety measures.

Compressed Gas Association Leonard Parker Pool Award—Safety
Air Products received the Leonard Parker Pool safety award from The Compressed Gas Association of America at their 91st annual conference in 2004. This award honors the participating association member companies that have shown the greatest improvement in safety performance.

Gas Processors Suppliers Association Award—Safety Excellence
Air Products was one of three companies recognized in 2004 for outstanding safety performance by the Gas Processors Suppliers Association. To be considered for the Association's safety award, a company must demonstrate an active safety program, marked annual improvements to its program for the preceding three years, and a favorable ranking in OSHA injury recordable rates relative to companies operating under the same standard industrial classification.

Construction Users Roundtable Recognizes Air Products for Safety Excellence for Second Consecutive Year
In fiscal 2004, Air Products received the CURT Construction Industry Safety Excellence Award in the "Owner" category. CURT (Construction Users Roundtable) annually awards, recognizes and promotes construction industry safety performance. Air Products has been awarded this prestigious recognition on two previous occasions, in 1988 and 1995 for the U.S. sites, and now for the global program. This award signifies over two million field hours and more than 50 contractors working safely on more than 75 projects around the globe.

Air Products Dallas Facility—"Blue Thumb" Award from the City of Dallas Department of Utilities
The City of Dallas Department of Utilities presented Air Products' Dallas electronic chemicals facility with its "Blue Thumb" award for having gone five consecutive years with no environmental excursions or adverse inspection findings. The Air Products facility was only one of two companies in Dallas singled out for such an achievement. On the heels of the "Blue Thumb" award, the electronic chemicals facility also received ISO 14001 certification.

Air Products Named "Smart Company" by the Carbon Trust
A national advertising campaign by the Carbon Trust recognized Air Products' commitment to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. The campaign highlights the fact that companies that behave responsibly toward the environment (and reduce carbon emissions) today, should be more likely to succeed in the future. Read more about the Carbon Trust: www.thecarbontrust.co.uk/carbontrust/.

Acrefair, North Wales manufacturing facility—The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) Gold Medal for Occupational Safety
Air Products' Acrefair, North Wales manufacturing facility was awarded The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) Gold Medal for Occupational Safety for the fourth year in a row. The RoSPA Occupational Safety Awards are not just about reducing the number of accidents and cases of illness at work, but also recognize organizations that have good health and safety management systems in place.

Air Products Czech Republic Receives Responsible Care® Certification
Having adhered to all its goals in the area of environmental protection and health and safety at work between 2002 and 2004, Air Products Czech Republic acquired the Responsible Care® Certification, awarded by The Czech Chemical Industry Association, a member of The European Chemical Council (CEFIC).

Lowest Accident Rate among Gas Companies in Spain
Air Products was awarded the "Lowest accident frequency rate" award in the gas company sector by the Federación de la Industria Química, Spain (FEIQUE).

Korean Government Presents Air Products with Environmentally Friendly Business Management Award
The government of Korea presented SY Lee, president of KIG (Korea Industrial Gases, Air Products' wholly-owned subsidiary in Korea), the 2004 Environmentally Friendly Business Management Award. This award went to the top 20 individuals from all industries in Korea who have made significant contributions to innovate and improve the industry's environmentally friendly management. Korea recognized Lee's individual contribution as the president of KIG on his management of over 20 plants in Korea, focusing on environmental protection efforts.

Air Products Singapore—Project Safety Award from BP
When BP became the first energy company in the world to provide environmentally friendly-hydrogen fuel at an existing retail site, they presented Air Products with a Project Safety Award for the safe and successful commissioning of the project. The award was presented for Air Products' efforts in helping BP meet its health, safety and environment objectives, and working hand-in-hand with BP through safety reviews that resulted in an inherently safer design. This culminated in the safe and successful commissioning of BP's hydrogen refueling facility.

Bangkok Industrial Gases (BIG)—National Safety Award from the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare in Thailand
Bangkok Industrial Gases (BIG), an Air Products' joint venture in Thailand, received a National Safety Award from the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare in Thailand. The Ministry conducts an annual national campaign to promote EH&S activities among companies in Thailand. More than 500 companies participate, but only 150 are selected to receive recognition.

Korea Specialty Gases (KSG)—Clean Manufacturing Award
Korea Specialty Gases (KSG), an Air Products' wholly owned subsidiary in Korea, received "Clean Manufacturing Award" from the government of Korea. KSG was recognized for its clean manufacturing on silane backhouse and N2O (nitrous oxide) purification through the development of a production method to reduce waste discharge into the air.

The Piedmont, S.C. and Langley, S.C. facilities were honored by the Safety and Health Committee of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce. Certificates of recognition were awarded because the employees at both locations achieved work years with zero lost workday cases in 2001.

Both plants are part of Air Products' Emulsions business area. Piedmont manufactures PSAs, pressure-sensitive adhesives used for labels, tapes, wood glue and coating products, and Langley manufactures graphic arts products, building products and custom toll-products for coatings. The 45 employees at Piedmont and 38 employees at Langley serve U.S. customers including major label manufacturers, graphic arts ink and additive manufacturers, and coatings and paints manufacturers.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently named Air Products one of 20 individuals, organizations and teams selected as 2002 winners of its prestigious Climate Protection Award. The EPA honored Air Products’ Electronics Technology Customer Applications (ETCA) group for its significant contributions over the last decade in characterizing and reducing emissions of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) from semiconductor industry factories.

PFCs are used for etching and cleaning operations in the fabrication of various electronic devices. Their use in semiconductor processing results in PFC gas emissions believed to contribute to global warming. During the 1970s, before PFCs were known to have global warming potential and long atmospheric lives, semiconductor tool manufacturers developed chamber clean processes that resulted in PFC emissions. In the early 1990s, Air Products began to model PFCs' effects on the environment. In 1994, members of ETCA published an article in Semiconductor International estimating the atmospheric global warming effect of PFCs emitted from semiconductor facilities and calling for zero emissions. ETCA also developed quantitative ways to measure emissions from semiconductor processing equipment, establishing the industry's standard analytical protocol.

Measuring emissions was just the start. To minimize emissions, ETCA worked with Applied Materials to develop alternative chamber clean procedures and to optimize existing techniques. This work led to Applied Materials' Remote Chamber Clean process, which reduced emissions by more than 99% compared with traditional chamber cleaning systems by using NF₃ as the chamber cleaning gas and a new remote plasma dissociation system. ETCA also collaborated with Motorola and Applied Materials to develop an NF₃-based process for use with existing processing equipment, and worked with other companies that do not use NF₃ to optimize their processes. The group continues to focus on new chemistries and technologies to further reduce emissions. To date, this has resulted in over 40 publications, 10 U.S. patents and 11 International SEMATECH technology transfer documents.

The Chemicals Group received Safety Awards from the National Paint and Coatings Association (NPCA) for calendar year 2000. Our U.S. plants qualified in the top three categories of the award-the Safety Award of Excellence (for zero fatality and total lost workday cases), the Safety Award of Honor (for the lowest fatality rate and total lost workday cases per total employee hours), and the Safety Award of Commendation (for lowest fatality rate and away-from-work cases). A breakdown of the award winners is given below:

• Award of Excellence: City of Industry, Cumberland, Elkton, Langley, Paulsboro, South Brunswick, Wichita
• Award of Honor: Calvert City, Geismar, Pasadena, St. Gabriel
• Award of Commendation: Los Angeles, Piedmont

For the second consecutive year, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has earned the top position as the safest among large-scale chemical manufacturers in the U.S. for 2000, according to Responsible Care® performance measure data recently released by the American Chemistry Council (ACC).

Air Products Electronic Chemicals' Schumacher group recently received an Environmental Excellence Award for Pollution Prevention from the Encina Wastewater Authority for making significant progress in waste reduction. Compared with 1994, Schumacher produces 3.5 times as much product, while the amount of waste the facility generates has remained essentially flat.

Located in Carlsbad, California, the Encina Wastewater Authority provides wastewater treatment services to approximately 250,000 North San Diego County residents and local businesses. Encina's state-of-the-art treatment facility is designed to treat wastewater to the secondary level—meaning the plant both removes solids from the waste and chlorinates the water to kill bacteria. As a result, most of the treatment plant's wastewater is discharged into the ocean.

Two Air Products people and one plant have won major recognitions from the Compressed Gas Association (CGA), underscoring the company's continuing commitment to safety and the environment.

• Gene Ngai, vice president of corporate development and operations for our Solkatronic unit, has won the prestigious Charles H. Glasier Safety Award, sponsored by Air Liquide America and presented annually for safety leadership in the industrial gas industry. Air Products’ Dave Scott won last year's award. Gene is responsible for the development and operation of the EREE (Emergency Response, Equipment, and Education) Group, which offers specialty gas emergency response services and devices. He has trained more than a thousand people in ER, including over 300 HazMat responders, and holds three patents for compressed gas safety and ER devices.
• The Hometown, Pennsylvania specialty gas plant has won a CGA environmental recognition award, sponsored by BOC Gases, for demonstrated environmental excellence. Our people at the plant installed technology to regenerate its spent potassium hydroxide scrubbing solution for reuse. More than 10 million pounds of potassium hydroxide solution is being recycled resulting in an annual savings of about $1.3 million. This achievement had already captured the Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence from Governor Tom Ridge.

Ron Szapacs of fleet operations in Allentown won a CGA environmental recognition award. Through a partnership with Mack Trucks, Ron determined that oil change intervals could be extended by 15,000 miles without affecting engine efficiency, cutting used oil disposal by 42,500 quarts per year and reducing the number of oil filters used by 2500. He also established the safe use of retreaded tires, reducing both waste and cost. And he switched the fleet to a heavy-duty antifreeze, lowering the disposal of antifreeze by 2700 gallons. These initiatives resulted in a cost savings of $650,000.

Air Products was honored with seven Safety Performance Awards during the Winter meeting of The European Industrial Gas Association (EIGA):

• Gold Safety Award
  Templemars: Cylinder distribution (France), which fills both medical and industrial gas cylinders has been awarded the Gold Safety Award for achieving 15 years without a lost-time accident.
• Silver Safety Awards
  St. Etienne, (France), and Gent bulk distribution, (Belgium) have each been awarded the Silver Safety Award for achieving 10 years without lost-time accidents.
• Bronze Safety Awards
  Vitoria, Laguna de Duero, El Temple and Perlio-Fene (all Carburos Metálicos) have each been awarded Bronze Safety Awards for achieving 5 years without lost-time accidents.

At the same time, Air Products was also presented with two other, previously announced, awards. The first, awarded to the UK, was a Category 1 Award for the best safety performance.

The Air Products chemicals plant at Clayton in Manchester, England was honored with a Gold Award in safety by the Chemical Industry Association in the UK for five years without a lost-time incident for 1999. The citation is made to CIA member firms that have exceeded five years with a lost-time incident rate below .25 for 100,000 hours worked.

The Stockton cogeneration facility received two 1999 Targeted Opportunities to Prevent Pollution in San Joaquin County (TOPPS) environmental excellence awards. Stockton received the TOPPS small business award in the land and water categories. Both awards recognize Stockton's tire-derived fuel program. This program is also the recipient of a 1998 Air Products Outstanding EH&S Leadership Award.

Stockton uses shredded tires in the cogen plant's fuel mix. Like the previous coke/coal mix, the modified fuel mix emits no odor. The cogeneration process supplies electricity and steam to Corn Products for use in its neighboring corn sweetener facility. Electricity not used by Corn Products is sold to Pacific Gas & Electric.

Between March–December 1999, the Stockton facility consumed nearly 15,000 tons of tire chips—the equivalent of 1,450,000 passenger tires. The success of the tire-derived fuel program has prompted other coal-fired cogen facilities in California to permit and install similar systems to help solve the state's growing waste tire problem.

The ash by-product generated from the plant is used in a number of beneficial applications, and any wire that is mixed in with the tire chips is magnetically separated from the ash and recycled by an outside contractor. Employees of the Stockton facility and our tire-derived fuel processor have also done extensive work with the Farm Bureau, the county, and local educational facilities to sponsor local amnesty days and local waste tire cleanup programs. 

The Acrefair manufacturing facility in North Wales has recently been awarded the Royal Society for the Protection of Accidents (RoSPA) Gold Medal for Occupational Safety. This is a particularly prestigious award that is given by RoSPA only to facilities that achieved the Gold Award status for five years in succession. In FY90 the injury frequency rate at Acrefair was 75 per 200,000 hrs worked. This has reduced every year, giving an all time low injury frequency rate of 23 in FY99. Acrefair also had its lowest recordable accident rate on record in FY'99.

The Silver Award for Occupational Safety 1999 was awarded to Air Products (Chemicals) Teesside facility.

At the summer meeting of the European Industrial Gases Association (EIGA) at Konstanz on May 26, Air Products received two of the Association's major awards for outstanding safety performance.

First, Air Products PLC will receive the COMPANY AWARD for the Category 1 company with the lowest lost-time accident rate in 1999. There are four categories of member companies in EIGA; Category 1 is for large companies and comprises the largest European activities of the seven major gas companies. We have therefore been recognized as the safety leaders among the major gas companies.

Second, Carburos Metálicos, our subsidiary in Spain, received the Road Safety Award for cylinder vehicle fleets which cover more than two million kilometers per year. This award recognizes the excellent preventable accident performance that our Spanish cylinder distribution operation achieved last year.

Two of our chemical plants in Louisiana were recipients of Governor's Environmental Leadership Awards for 2000. Our St. Gabriel plant received a Pollution Prevention Achievement Award for environmental improvements resulting from our recent expansion project there. The new Geismar plant received a Special Citation for Pollution Prevention Achievement in conjunction with Rubicon Incorporated for its environmental improvement in allowing Rubicon to outsource dinitrotoluene supply. 

Air Products received two awards from the Compressed Gas Association at its annual meeting on 1 March. Dave Scott, Specialty Gas Transportation Manager, received the Charles L. Glasier Safety Award sponsored by Air Liquide America Corporation. This award is given annually to an individual in recognition of safety leadership in the industrial gas industry. In presenting the award, Patrick Verschelde, President of Air Liquide America recognized Dave for over twenty-seven years of outstanding contributions to the Industrial Gas Industry through CGA. During his tenure, Dave provided excellent leadership to the Specialty Gas, Semiconductor, and Emergency Response technical committees. Dave has nurtured these committees, broadens their scope and influence, and improved the overall safety knowledge of these products in the industry.

The CGA awarded this year's Cylinder Fleet Safety Award to Air Products to recognize its outstanding safety performance among the industry's cylinder truck delivery fleets. Air Products was recognized as a winner in the large company category (vehicle fleet with more than 3 million miles) having the lowest vehicle accident frequency rate (VAFR).

Air Products received the Chemical Manufacturers Association Responsible Care Employee Health and Safety Code “Performance Improvement Award” for 1998. This award recognizes Air Products' achievement of a greater than 25% improvement in the company's Total Recordable Incidence Rate for the period 1993–1998. Air Products was recognized for the achievement at the CMA Annual Meeting held June 2-4.

SanFu Chemical, our Taiwan-based joint venture, recently received the first Construction Site Safety Award from TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.) for its work on TSMC's Fab 6 project. SanFu is the first company to be so recognized. San Fu's scope of work on the project includes the installation of bulk and specialty gas equipment as well as the supply and installation of the ultrahigh-purity in-fab piping distribution systems.

The Acrefair, North Wales facility has been awarded the prestigious RoSPA GOLD Award for Occupational Safety for 1999. This is the fourth year in succession that Acrefair has won this award.

The employees of the APCI-OUTLOOK facility at Shell Chemical in Geismar, Louisiana received their fourth-in-a-row Gold Safety Award—the highest honor awarded to Shell contractors.

To qualify, the contractor must work at least 500 hours during the year at the Geismar facility. To win the Gold Award, the contractor must operate at the site without any recordable injuries and lost-time accidents. They must also demonstrate the willingness to work in tandem with Shell employees to make the work site a safer place for everyone.

The Oklahoma Safety Council presented Air Products' Pryor, OK facility with a safety award for the plant's low recordable injury rate. The plaque reads "1998 Company Safety Award, Air Products & Chemicals Inc., Presented by Oklahoma Safety Council, for Achievement and Excellence in Safety".

The State of Wisconsin recognized Air Products' commitment to safety with a Certificate of Recognition.

As part of the Department of Workforce Development, Division of Worker's Compensation's new “Report Card” safety initiative program, employers with no lost-time injuries for the past five years are being recognized for their commitment to safety. The Division of Worker's Compensation defines lost-time as missing work for 3 or more consecutive days due to workplace injury or illness.

In the State of Wisconsin, approximately 30 people are employed by Air Products at facilities in Oak Creek (PDO), Waukesha (PGS), and package plants in Portage and Wisconsin Rapids.

Our Calvert City, Kentucky chemicals manufacturing facility has been honored as the first recipient of Governor Paul Patton's Five-Million Hour Safety and Health Award. It's been more than six years since an employee of the Calvert City plant—which employs over 400 workers—missed work because of an on-the-job injury or illness.

The special award grew out of the Governor's Occupational Safety and Health Award program, which honors companies for the number of hours worked without experiencing a lost-time injury or illness with normal award qualification levels between 250,000–1 million hours, depending on workforce size. Until now, no company had ever reached the five million mark required for this special award.

Gov. Paul Patton and Labor Secretary Joe Norsworthy presented the award to Air Products at the state capital in Frankfort on December 4th.

The award is given to any facility or company in any industry that can demonstrate a high level of commitment to, and success in, the field of EH&S. This is the third year in succession that the Acrefair facility received this prestigious award.

Chemicals Group received Safety Awards from the National Paint and Coatings Association (NPCA) for CY97. All of our 15 U.S. plants qualified in the top three categories of the award—the Safety Award of Excellence (for zero fatality and total lost workday cases), the Safety Award of Honor (Honor for the lowest fatality rate and total lost workday cases per total employee hours), and the Safety Award of Commendation (for lowest fatality rate and away-from-work cases). A breakdown of the award winners is given below.

• Award of Excellence: City of Industry, Cleveland, Cumberland, Piedmont, St. Gabriel, Wichita
• Award of Honor: Elkton, Langley, Paulsboro, South Brunswick, Travelers Rest, Vernon
• Award of Commendation: Calvert City, Pasadena, Pensacola

This is the first year every plant received an award from the NPCA.

Each year, the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) recognizes work sites that have excellent safety records. For the first time, all of the Chemicals Group plants were recognized by SPI. The following plants received Distinguished Safety Awards for no occupational injuries or illnesses during 1997:

• City of Industry, CA
• Cleveland, OH
• Cumberland, RI
• Elkton, MD
• Industrial Chemicals Technology R&D (Allentown)
• Langley, SC
• Los Angeles, CA
• Paulsboro, NJ
• Performance Chemicals Technology R&D (Allentown)
• Piedmont, SC
• Polymer Chemicals Technology R&D (Allentown)
• St. Gabriel, LA
• South Brunswick, NJ
• Travelers Rest, SC
• Wichita, KS

In addition, the Pensacola, FL plant received a Merit Safety Award for a lost workday case incident rate lower than the national average and a reduction in lost workday case incident rate of at least 20%. The Calvert City, KY and Pasadena, TX plants also received a Special Recognition Award for operating with an above average safety performance during 1997. 

Air Products recently received an award at the Rocky Flats site for 25 years safe operating practice.

On 7 July, the New Orleans plant and terminal were recognized by the local chapter of the National Safety Council for outstanding safety performance during 1997. The New Orleans plant received an occupational Award of Honor in the 100,000–250,000 man-hour category, and the New Orleans terminal received the fleet safety Award of Honor in the 1,000,000+ miles category. The awards were presented at the 48th Annual Clem Buckman Occupational and Fleet Safety Award Banquet.

Our chemicals facility in Piedmont, South Carolina was recognized for Environmental Excellence by Western Carolina Regional Sewer Authority. The award was presented to facilities that maintained a perfect compliance record with the Authority. This is the second consecutive year that our Piedmont plant has been recognized for this accomplishment.

CSX Transportation recognized 27 chemical shippers as winners of its 1997 Chemical Safety Excellence Award, including Air Products. These awards honor chemical shippers who go the extra mile to ensure the safety of hazardous material shipments. As shippers, we need to prevent accidental releases by properly preparing our railcars for shipment by the railroad. In 1997 we shipped by CSX over 3700 railcars primarily out of our Pace, FL chemical plant without a single release. Winners of this award were selected based on their loading procedures, loading training, incident investigation, and corrective action plans, all of which are required by the Distribution Code of Responsible Care.

Air Products received the National Safety Council Award of Merit by significantly reducing the operation's 1997 incidence rates as compared to a combination of the 1994–1996 incidence rates for its own record and that of its industry.

Air Products received the Leonard Parker Pool Award from CGA for having recorded the greatest improvement in safety performance during the previous two years, based on the total recordable case incidence rates as defined by the OSHA. This is the third time Air Products has been so honored by the CGA, the previous awards coming in 1981 and 1985.

Bob Ormsby, safety manager in the Chemicals Group, has received the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Norton H. Walton/Russell Miller Award in Safety/Loss Prevention. The award recognizes “outstanding chemical engineering contributions and achievements in loss prevention, safety, and health.”

Stockton, CA was recognized by their community for several awards. The Stockton Facility received a Targeted Opportunities to Prevent Pollution award from the City of Stockton and the County of San Joaquin. Stockton was also recognized as Volunteer Company of the Year by the Greater Stockton Chamber. Finally, they were also recognized at the Junior Achievement annual board of directors luncheon with an award for Business Partnership with the Community.

The Chemicals Group plant in Manchester (UK) recently received the UK Chemical Industries Association Safety Award Scheme Certificate for excellent safety performance during 1996, when there were no lost-time injuries at the site. The award also reflects the ongoing improvement of the safety process at the site, which has operated over 3 years without a lost-time injury.

Sixteen of our chemical plants and R&D organizations have received safety awards from the Society of Plastics Industry (SPI). Receiving Distinguished Safety Awards, for no occupational injuries or illnesses during the calendar year were:

• City of Industry
• South Brunswick
• Elkton
• Paulsboro
• Piedmont
• Travelers Rest
• Langley
• Industrial Chemicals R&D.

Receiving Achievement Safety Awards, for no recordable occupational injuries or illnesses involving lost workdays during the calendar year were:

• Cleveland
• Cumberland
• Pasadena
• St. Gabriel
• Wichita
• Polyurethane and Performance Chemicals R&D
• Polymer Chemicals R&D.

And receiving a Merit Safety Award was Calvert City, for a lost workday case incident rate lower than the national average for the industry in the previous year and a reduction in its lost workday case incident rate of at least 20% compared to the previous year.

The Chemical Manufacturer's Association recognized over 100 Air Products facilities and organizations for outstanding safety performance during 1996. These awards include 24 Awards of Achievement and 87 Awards of Honor. Recipients of the Award of Achievement completed 1996 without a lost workday or fatality. Recipients of the Award of Honor also completed 1996 without a lost workday or fatality, and had no restricted activity cases. This performance demonstrates Air Products' commitment to safety leadership in the chemical industry.

Air Products was been chosen as the runner-up for the 1996 Lammot du Pont Safety Award from the Chemical Manufacturers Association. For the five-year period ending December 31, 1996, Air Products had the second greatest reduction in injury and illness rates among all eligible CMA member companies with greater than 20 million exposure hours. The winner of this year's award, Du Pont, had a reduction rate of 26.6% vs. Air Products' 25.3%. This is an outstanding achievement and reflects Air Products' continuing commitment to safety leadership.

The following fleet safety awards were presented to Air Products last week by the National Private Truck Council at their annual Education/Management Conference.

• Gold Seal Award (51 awards)—for each location operating without an accident during the fiscal year
• Red Seal Award (2 awards)—for each location reducing their vehicle accident frequency rate by 40% or more
• Blue Seal Award (3 awards)—for each location reducing their vehicle accident frequency rate by 20% to 39%
• Silver Seal Award—awarded to a company and its employees for having successfully and consistently maintained an outstanding safety record in the operation of its private fleet for the previous five years
• Second place Platinum Award—presented to those companies whose f leets experienced the lowest ratio of accidents per million miles.

The Chemicals Group Plant in Manchester, UK received the UK Chemical Industries Association Safety Award Scheme Certificate for excellent safety performance during 1996, when there were no lost-time injuries at the site. The award also reflects the ongoing improvement of the safety process at the site, which has operated over 3 years without a lost-time injury.

Our Decatur, Alabama team won the 1996 Alabama Trucking Association safety award in the Hazmat Division for companies driving over one million miles in the state of Alabama.

Air Products Canada was highlighted in the Canadian Chemical Producers Association 1996 Responsible Care annual report. The article, "Air Products Canada Sets Record," explains how Air Products achieved Responsible Care verification in a record-setting three years. Verification is a process where an independent four-member team visits a company over several days and scrutinizes every facet of a company's operations, from the way chemicals are manufactured, handled and shipped, to documentation. The team includes an activist, two industry experts, and a community representative. It usually takes companies years to prepare for verification, but Air Products did it in record time. Air Products attributed its success to employee involvement, such as putting employees in charge of code implementation, and Responsible Care training. 

The European Industrial Gases Association (EIGA) recognized three Air Products sites in France (Templemars, Grand Couronne, and Isbergues) this year with safety awards. EIGA provides recognition and encouragement for good safety performance in its member companies by awarding certificates to operating sites for each three-year period that they complete without lost-time accidents. Air Products is the only member company of EIGA to receive 21-year awards. In previous years, three other Air Products sites (one in the Netherlands, two in the U.K.) received EIGA 21-year awards.

Gardner Cryogenics facility in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was officially designated a Star site by representatives of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) at a ceremony held yesterday. The Star designation is the highest level of achievement in OSHA's Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) which recognizes worksites that have achieved and are maintaining excellence in worker safety and health protection. Currently, there are 314 VPP sites nationwide out of six-and-a-half million workplaces.

The Pasadena, Texas plant received a Leadership Award from the Work in America Institute for helping to change the way America works through commitment of quality, safety, and employee involvement.

The Associate Building Contractors (ABC) from Houston, Texas presented Air Products the Project of the Year Award for the HYCO-3 project in LaPorte, Texas. The project finished in early 1996, with an outstanding safety record (over a million construction hours without a lost-time work injury.)

Air Products received a 1996 Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The award was presented by Governor Tom Ridge to the Cambria CoGen facility in the pollution prevention category. The facility was recognized for its superior emission reduction control system and for beneficially using ash to reclaim over 500 acres of abandoned mine beds, as well as mitigating acid mine drainage in two major watersheds in western Pennsylvania.

Our Pace, Florida chemicals manufacturing facility has been designated a “Star” site, the highest level of achievement in the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). This is the fifth facility owned and operated by Air Products or its partners to be recognized by OSHA's Voluntary Protection Program. The Pace facility is one of 240 facilities out of a potential field of six million nationwide to have received this highest safety recognition from OSHA. The facility was recommended for the Star rating after the VPP team's first visit, a rare occurrence.

Air Products has received Conrail's Responsible Shipper Award for the second consecutive year. This award is based on the shipment of at least 500 tank cars of hazardous materials with no non-accidental releases. Careful attention to equipment maintenance, loading and preparation of cars for shipment are the hallmarks for such flawless performance. The Chemical Group's Calvert City and Pace plants were the primary shipping origins for shipments on Conrail and will be presented with the award by Conrail.

The Piedmont, South Carolina chemical plant was recognized as a nominee for the South Carolina Manufacturers of the Year award. A dinner was held with Governor Beasley honoring the thirty-nine manufacturers that were nominated. This distinction was given to companies in the state that reflect quality standards in manufacturing, employee programs and involvement, community programs, and environmental stewardship.

Air Products was one of 19 companies recognized by Union Pacific Railroad for the safe shipment of hazardous chemicals. The company shipped over 2800 tankcar loads of chemicals through Union Pacific, most of it from our Pasadena, TX plant.

Shortly before yesterday's launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, NASA officials honored Air Products for over 20 years of consistent support of the U.S. Space Shuttle program. Jay Honeycutt, director of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, recognized Air Products before a VIP audience of nearly 500 people assembled to watch the launch, for safety, quality, and on-time delivery of liquid hydrogen to the Shuttle program. The crowd included representatives of the European and Russian space programs.

The Society of the Plastics Industry's (SPI) Occupational Health and Environmental Issues Committee recognized 308 plants with Safety Awards in its 1995 Occupational Safety and Health Survey. SPI conducted the survey to collect statistical information of occupational illnesses and injuries in the plastic industry and to recognize those plants which had excellent safety records. Air Products facilities in Allentown, PA; City of Industry, CA; Cleveland, OH; Dayton, NJ; Langley, SC; Paulsboro, NJ; Piedmont, SC; and St. Gabriel, LA all received Distinguished Awards. Our facilities in Allentown, PA; Cumberland, RI; Los Angeles, CA; and Wichita, KS received Achievement Awards. Our Pasadena, TX plant received a Merit Award. 

Air Products' Cumberland, RI facility has received a Safety Award for Excellence for 1995 from the National Paint and Coatings Association for outstanding achievement in maintaining a record of no “lost-time” accidents during the previous five years.

The Production and Delivery Organization (PDO) delivery fleet won first place in the American Trucking Association's (ATA) National Industrial Safety Contest for Tank Truck Division 300 to 1000 employees. Criteria for winning first place is to have the lowest personal injury rate. In addition to this award, the PDO fleet also won first place in the ATA Fleet Safety contest for tank truck fleets operating between 50-100 million miles per year. Criteria for this category is to have the lowest vehicle accident frequency rates.

Air Products' chemicals manufacturing facility in Cleveland, Ohio, received a 100% Award for operating the entire year (1995) without a lost-time injury. The award was presented by the Greater Cleveland Safety Council.

Our chemicals plant in Paulsboro, NJ has received two safety performance awards from the New Jersey Department of Labor. One was a Citation of Merit for completing 1996 without a lost-time incident and the other was the Commissioner of Labor Award for completing four years without a lost-time accident. The awards were presented by the Assistant Commissioner of the Labor Department.

Our GEG fleet was recently honored by the National Private Truck Council at a dinner in Washington, DC. A platinum award was given in the large fleet category (over 400 vehicles) for the lowest ratio of accidents per million miles, and a silver seal award (also in the large fleet category) for an outstanding safety record for the previous five years. In addition, 64 of our individual locations received gold, red, or blue seal awards for their safety record. We were far and away the company with most locations recognized.

Schumacher was recently recognized by the Encina Wastewater Authority (EWA) with their Gold Award for their commitment to protect the marine environment and ensure a clean wastewater system. Schumacher received the award for complete compliance with all pretreatment program requirements for discharged industrial wastewater during 1995.

Air Products received the Kirkpatrick Chemical Engineering Achievement Award for its Oxypro Process Technology which is an oxygen-based technology that more effectively enables mixed office wastepaper to be recycled. The award is sponsored by the McGraw-Hill Company's Chemical Engineering Magazine and honors outstanding chemical engineering technology that has been successfully commercialized.

The Business Roundtable's prestigious Construction Industry Safety Excellence (CISE) Award in the “owner overall program category” was awarded to Air Products. We are the first company to receive three safety awards and o