Severe flooding and power outages in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina continue to impact several sites owned by Dow and its wholly owned subsidiary, Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), in Louisiana. 

UCC's St. Charles Operations  in Hahnville, which underwent a controlled shutdown over the weekend in anticipation of the hurricane, remains shut down and is secure at this time.  Due to the devastation of the surrounding areas and flooding that has worsened significantly in the past 24 hours, access to the site is very limited and a full assessment of facilities has not yet been possible.  However, key personnel are on site and recovery efforts are underway.  Return to normal operations is difficult to determine at this time due to availability of power, utilities, raw materials, and transportation, but it will likely be weeks - not days or months - before normal operations can resume. 

Dow's Louisiana Operations in Plaquemine were less severely impacted and most of the site's production units are operational.  Site personnel are working to bring all operations back on line safely, depending upon the availability of power, utilities, raw materials, and transportation.    

Both sites continue to maintain an unwavering focus on the safety of employees and the communities.  Dow will also be working with communities to assist with their needs as they recover from the hurricane.

Dow will issue specific product and business announcements in the coming days as operations and other factors are assessed.

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Dow is a leader in science and technology, providing innovative chemical, plastic and agricultural products and services to many essential consumer markets. With annual sales of $40 billion, Dow serves customers in 175 countries and a wide range of markets that are vital to human progress: food, transportation, health and medicine, personal and home care, and building and construction, among others. Committed to the principles of sustainable development, Dow and its 43,000 employees seek to balance economic, environmental and social responsibilities. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.