Press release - Dow Chemical Shareholders Urge Disclosure of Dioxin Liabilities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                         FOR MORE INFORMATION

May 6, 2003           

DOW CHEMICAL SHAREHOLDERS CHALLENGE MANAGEMENT ON DIOXIN

Investors Seek Disclosure of Company's Unreported Environmental Liabilities

(Boston, MA) A shareholder resolution pending for the Dow Chemical (NYSE:

DOW) May 8 annual meeting asks the company to report on its liabilities

related to dioxin and other persistent toxic pollutants. The resolution is

sponsored by Trillium Asset Management, an investment firm based in Boston.

Dow is one of the largest manufacturers of dioxin generating products in the

world. Dioxins are a group of toxic substances that have been linked with

cancer, and damage to the immune, hormone and reproductive systems.

Though the company has not published projections of liabilities related to

dioxins, Dow recently disclosed other long-term toxic liabilities. In

December of 2002, Dow published projections of long-term asbestos

liabilities related to its purchase of Union Carbide two years previously.

The result was a declaration of a potential $2.2 billion in liabilities, and

$832 million charge against 4th quarter 2002 revenues.

"Given the recent disclosures on asbestos, and grave concerns about Dow

dioxin contamination, our resolution asks the management to provide

shareholders with a detailed accounting of the financial risks posed by

dioxin from Dow facilities," said Shelley Alpern, Assistant Vice President

at Trillium Asset Management.  "We're also asking the company to report on a

group of particularly toxic chemicals that don't break down in the

environment, so shareholders can assess the potential for future liability."

Dow has not disclosed the extent of liability associated with extensive

dioxin contamination downstream from the Dow facility in Midland. Last

December, Dow and the state of Michigan proposed, and later dropped, a

settlement that would have radically raised the threshold for allowable

dioxin levels near the Dow facility in Midland. Environmental organizations

had filed suit against the pact, alleging that it was illegal. The

elimination of the pact increases the likely costs of remediation.

And in March 2003, a class action was filed against Dow for property damages

and medical monitoring on behalf of 2,000 contaminated residents of

Michigan. According to the plaintiffs, the property damages alone are

estimated at $100 million.

Sanford Lewis, attorney who defended the shareholder resolution at the SEC

against a company challenge, said that Dow shareholders deserve better

disclosure. "Dow is at risk of becoming the Enron of the environment.  Will

the management avoid calculating and reporting their environmental

liabilities until someone or something forces their hand?  Will they

continue producing compounds that international treaties are targeting?"

Dow asserts that its website on dioxin contains information for investors.

But according to the proponents of the resolution, the Dow website does not

provide projections, similar to Dow's new asbestos calculations, on the

largest potential dioxin liabilities and market risks

"Dow has not informed investors on the extent of contamination at existing

Dow facilities nor quantified the associated long-term liabilities as

requested in the resolution," said Alpern. "Dow shareholders don't need

another unknown and open-ended risk."

Trillium Asset Management Corporation is the oldest and largest independent

investment advisor devoted exclusively to socially responsible investing.

Sanford Lewis is an attorney whose practice emphasizes issues of corporate

disclosure and accountability.

To view the text of the shareholder resolution and additional information

please visit www.proxyinformation.com