Midland, MI - September 23, 2005

As Hurricane Rita moves closer to the Texas Gulf Coast, The Dow Chemical Company announced this morning that the shutdown of all sites in the Freeport and Houston areas was complete before dawn today.

Dow sites at Freeport, Deer Park, Clear Lake and LaPorte, as well as the Union Carbide facilities in Texas City and Seadrift and the Dow Haltermann site in Houston are all now secure. The Company's Houston business centers are also closed.

Additionally in Louisiana, Dow's site in Plaquemine and Union Carbide's St. Charles facility in Hahnville continue to track the hurricane's path and have moved to a first stage hurricane warning as a precaution; non-essential employees have been told not to report to work today.

Citing the safety of its employees as its first priority, Dow is urging its employees in the affected areas to take appropriate precautions to prepare for the storm and to adhere to any mandatory evacuations. The Company has issued a travel ban to all Dow Texas Gulf Coast sites, except for returning travelers. A travel ban remains in effect for all travel to Louisiana areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina.

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.

For Editorial Information:

Chris Huntley
The Dow Chemical Company
(989) 636-2876