Midland, MI - December 14, 2005

Effective January 1, 2006, ANGUS Chemical Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company ("ANGUS"), will withdraw sales of AMP-95™, AMP-Regular and AMP-Cosmetic Grade neutralizing amines for use in European personal care and cosmetics products as they are no longer compliant with the product safety requirements set by the European Cosmetics Directive 76/768/EEC.

Customers currently using AMP-95, AMP-Regular and AMP-Cosmetic Grade will be transitioned to the ULTRA™ PC range of products. Introduced in Europe in 2004 and also available in North America, the ULTRA PC product portfolio includes AMP-ULTRA PC neutralizing amine (2-Amino-2-Methyl-1-Propanol) for hair and personal care, TRIS AMINOTM ULTRA PC buffer (Tromethamine) for skin care, and AMPDTM ULTRA PC buffer for eye care products. All products in the ULTRA PC family are guaranteed globally compliant and do not require costly formulation changes for customers.

"Many of our customers have already successfully transitioned their formulations to the ULTRA PC range using the globally compliant amino alcohols for a wide range of personal care and cosmetics products and product withdrawal of non-compliant products into this market is a logical next step," said Liam Doherty, global marketing manager for ANGUS. "With our enhanced ULTRA PC product portfolio, we have created product equivalents that assure global compliance, and solve the challenges presented to our customers by providing quality chemicals that meet industry standards, yet simple to add to existing formulations."

AMP-ULTRA PC neutralizing amine and TRIS AMINO ULTRA PC buffer provide excellent performance advantages and benefits as neutralizing agents, offering excellent color stability and primary amine functionality. A drop-in equivalent to AMPD neutralizing amine, AMPD ULTRA PC buffer offers effective buffering and excellent color stability making it the optimal neutralizer for eye care products.

Aligned as a market-focused, solutions-driven specialty chemicals business, ANGUS is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company. ANGUS develops and delivers nitroalkane-based solutions to our customers for applications in latex paints, mineral slurries, metalworking fluids, water treatment, biological buffers, solvents and thinners, wood adhesives, pharmaceutical & agricultural intermediates, SBR latex shortstops, fuel additives and personal care and household products.

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.

Further information on ANGUS Chemical Company is available on the Internet at www.angus.com.

For Editorial Information:

Louise Falp
ANGUS Chemical Company
1 847-808-3771