Announcement Is Latest Milestone in Company's 14-Year History of Supplying

Helium for MRIs

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE: APD) announced today that its KeepCOLD(R) Cryogenic Fill Services Program has begun serving its 3,500th MRI customer site in the United States. More than 500 new customer sites have been added in the last 13 months.

"Since our 10th anniversary in 1998, we have increased the total number of customer sites in the U.S. by 75 percent," noted Robert A. Hoffman, worldwide helium MRI manager. "This achievement is a result of our strong relationships with key OEMs as well as the service and reliability we have built our KeepCOLD(R) Program around."

A unique component of the KeepCOLD(R) Program is its service team members who are accessible 24 hours per day, seven days per week. This high level of customer service is required in an industry where MRI unit downtime can cost more than $500 per hour in lost revenue, loss of credibility among referring physicians and time spent rescheduling appointments.

"There is no room for compromise in this business, no room to take chances," said Brian Ashby, Service Manager with Medical Imaging Systems in Birmingham, Ala. Medical Imaging Systems manages the actual location of the 3,500th customer site, which is in Calhoun, Ga. "I have worked with Air Products since they started the KeepCOLD(R) program and their customer service is unmatched. Whether it's 2:00 AM or whether I have a magnet at 0 percent and need an emergency transfill, they have always been there without exception."

Air Products uses an extensive network of helium production facilities to supply product for its KeepCOLD(R) services, including the world's largest helium liquefier located in Liberal, Kan. The Liberal facility, owned and operated by Air Products, was expanded in 2000 and is capable of processing over one billion standard cubic feet per year (scfy) of capacity. The Liberal plant supplements an additional one billion scfy of capacity, which the company sources from other helium production facilities in the Texas Panhandle; Keyes, Okla.; La Barge, Wyo.; and Arzew, Algeria via a Helios joint venture with Sonatrach, the Algerian state owned oil and gas company. In addition, Air Products has over 40 helium transfill facilities globally, all supporting the company's position as the world's leading supplier of helium.

"As the helium market heads into a critical supply crunch, we are uniquely positioned to serve our customers' needs," stated Ronald E. Sheppard, worldwide general manager of Air Products' helium business. "MRI customers represent the majority of end-market users of helium. They expect worry-free supply, global coverage and pioneering technology. As the largest helium supplier to that market, we remain focused on meeting that expectation."

MRI - a way of generating sectional images of the skeleton and inner organs - is a technique that uses magnetic field and radio waves instead of x-rays or ultrasonic waves. To be able to create a powerful enough magnetic field, the magnet must be cooled to superconductivity levels using liquid helium, which maintains a temperature of -452.F.

Air Products serves customers in healthcare, technology, energy, and industrial markets worldwide with a unique portfolio of products, services and solutions, providing atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials and chemical intermediates. The company is the largest global supplier of helium, electronic materials, hydrogen and select performance chemicals. Founded in 1940, Air Products is recognized for its innovative culture, operational excellence and commitment to safety and the environment. With annual revenues of $5.4 billion and operations in 30 countries, the company's 17,500 employees build lasting relationships with their customers and communities based on understanding, integrity and passion. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com.

***NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements. Actual results could vary materially, due to changes in current expectations.

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SOURCE Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

-0- 12/01/2002

/NOTE TO EDITORS: In addition to the more than 40,000 fills performed annually by Air Products' more than 100 highly-trained KeepCOLD(R) technicians, the company also provides a KeepCOLD(R) Cryo-Shielding Maintenance Service which involves change-out and/or repair of the cold head, compressor, oil adsorber and other components, offering original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers a hassle-free option for repetitive servicing of their mechanical refrigeration technology. Approximately 90 percent of the world's nearly 10,000 MRI magnets require some degree of cryo-shielding maintenance. Photos of MRI magnet fills are available at the company's on-line Press Room at www.airproducts.com/pressroom/restricted/photo-medical.asp. Photos of Air Products' Liberal, Kan. helium facility also are available at the company's on-line Press Room at www.airproducts.com/pressroom/restricted/photo-plant.asp./

/CONTACT: Media: Kassie Hilgert, +1-610-481-1188 or hilgerk@apci.com; or Investor Inquiries: Alexander W. Masetti, +1-610-481-7461 or masettaw@apci.com. both of Air Products and Chemicals/