Letter from the Site Leader — Don Huether

There is a big difference between just talking about doing something and actually doing it. Each year, Dow makes a commitment to an ambitious goal — zero.

The goal of zero means no injuries, illnesses, process safety incidents or motor vehicle accidents at our site. Each year, we report on our progress toward the target of zero through this, our fifth edition of the Prentiss site online report.

You may recall that in 2004, the Prentiss site structure changed. Two of its three manufacturing plants are now owned by MEGlobal Canada, a joint venture between Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) of Kuwait, and The Dow Chemical Company. More information about MEGlobal can be found by visiting www.meglobal.biz. The LP7 polyethylene plant remains a Dow-owned facility. Therefore, the emissions data within this report only reflects this plant. However, some of the other data, such as site safety statistics, reflect the site as a whole. One significant achievement to note is that we had zero process safety incidents in 2005, and we’ll look to set a new record in 2006 for consecutive days without a process safety incident.

In 2005, Prentiss was pleased to once again receive awards for safety from the Alberta Petrochemical Safety Council, and for community involvement from the United Way of Central Alberta. We also saw another positive economic year through aggressive cost management, improved volumes, and continued customer focus. However, concerns over high and variable feedstock and energy costs continue. On a local note, restricted feedstock availability is another challenge facing Alberta’s petrochemical industry. Dow will continue to work with government and industry partners to address these issues.

Maintaining positive relationships with our neighbouring communities remains a vital part of our operations. Our primary source of feedback is the Community Advisory Panel, a group that provides us with a wide range of perspectives about how our operations can affect and improve our communities. On their advice, we held an open house to share our emergency response plans and capabilities with the public. As a result, more than 80 per cent of those who attended said they had a better understanding of Dow’s operations and ability to prevent, identify and respond to emergencies.

We are committed to protecting people and the environment, being good neighbours, listening to our stakeholders and providing a great workplace for our employees. This public report will demonstrate how we “walk the talk” here at Prentiss, and how we continually seek to improve every aspect of our operations. I hope you will contact us if you have any questions about the Prentiss site, and appreciate you taking the time to review the 2005 Prentiss Public Report.

Best regards,

Don Huether
Prentiss Site Leader and LP7 Polyethylene Plant Production Leader
Dow Chemical Canada