For the second consecutive year, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) 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 was ranked as the safest company in all three of the categories by which the ACC measures the performance of its member companies, including total recordables, total lost workdays, and total lost workday cases away from work.

In the category most often cited when evaluating the safety of the chemical industry—total recordable incidence rate—Air Products improved nearly 10 percent over 1999 with a rate of 0.94 per 200,000 employee hours worked. The industry average in this category for large companies (20 million or more employee hours worked per year) was 2.26, while the overall average for all companies was 2.16.

"Recognition as the safest large-scale chemical company in the United States is a tremendous accomplishment," said Air Products Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John P. Jones. "Safety has become such an important part of our culture—it is a value all of our employees have internalized. It takes a lot of hard work and constant attention to detail. We are proud to be at the top of the list, but our journey has not ended as we strive toward our ultimate goal of zero injuries."

For more information about Air Products' overall performance in environmental, health and safety (EH&S) for 2000, visit: www.airproducts.com/where-we-stand2000/.

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (www.airproducts.com) is the world's only combined gases and chemicals company. Founded more than 60 years ago, the business has annual revenues of $5.5 billion and operations in 30 countries. Air Products is a market leader in the global electronics and chemical processing industries, and a longstanding innovator in many industrial markets, including coatings, adhesives and polyurethanes. The company distinguishes itself through its 17,500 employees around the world, who build lasting relationships with their customers and communities based on understanding, integrity and passion.

*Responsible Care® is an initiative of the chemical industry focused on improving environmental, health and safety performance and responding to public concerns about chemical manufacturing.