Letter from the Site Leader — Nawzer Parakh

	Nawzer Parakh, St. Charles Operations Site Leader

• In 2004, our more than 2,500 St. Charles and contract employees completed the year with the best safety injury rate (.22) in the site’s history! This rate is not just a number for us. What’s most important is that fewer of our people got hurt this year compared to previous years. Employees accomplished this record during an extremely active year of record product shipments, multiple maintenance turnarounds, and new plant construction.
  
  
• We are also proud that the Occupational, Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently recognized our site as one of the safest workplaces in the entire nation, by certifying our site as a Voluntary Protection Program "Star Site." SCO is the first Union Carbide Corporation site within Dow to receive this prestigious honor. It is direct proof that we are continuing to make progress toward our ultimate goal — a Vision of Zero injuries. Only 1,000 of the seven million worksites in the United States have achieved this level of safety. We are proud to be a member of this elite group.
  
  
• At approximately $300 million a year annually, our economic impact in the community continues to be strong, and is most evident through payroll, our local purchasing and tax payments, and the site’s contributions to the community. Additionally, in 2004 Dow announced plans to invest in the site by building a new latex plant. The project is part of a more than $100 million investment. This is great news for St. Charles Operations, and proof that we are a competitive site, thanks in great part to our integrated facility and talented employees.
  
  
• Finally, employee volunteerism and community outreach reached an all-time high in 2004, with the highest percentage of employees in site history generously giving more of their time and resources to many worthy causes, including community and educational outreach projects. More than 35% of our employees are active volunteers in the community. For example, during our United Way campaign, SCO and employees donated more than $300,000 — a $30,000 increase from last year! Actively supporting the United Way, going door-to-door to visit near neighbors, lending a hand at Household Hazardous Materials Collection Days and LeBranche Wetland Watchers program events, and volunteering to instruct classes in the Process Technology program are just a few ways in which our employees are working to make a difference in our community.

In this 2004 Public Report you will find more detailed information regarding SCO’s economic and social contributions to our local community and the state. You’ll learn more about our commitment to employees and our investment in their well-being. And, perhaps most important, we will give you an extensive look at our site’s environment, health and safety performance. We are committed to further reduce air and water emissions, as well as energy use generated during production by major percentages. You’ll see that we are making significant progress.

Dow is committed to operating its facility safely and responsibly, and living up to its obligations to the community. This public report is presented as a report card on our performance. We hope you will see a strong, vibrant company that is a good employer, a responsible neighbor, and a conscientious supporter of the community for long-term, mutual growth.

Nawzer Parakh
Site Leader, St. Charles Operations