Mississauga, Ontario – February 8, 2008 – IAPA (Industrial Accident Prevention Association) proudly presented BASF Canada’s Windsor, Ontario facility with a Level III Health & Safety Achievement Award for outstanding workplace health and safety performance today. BASF’s Windsor facility manufactures automotive coatings, including basecoats and primers.

IAPA awarded BASF Canada with a Level III Award after it conducted an on-site verification of the facility’s health and safety systems on November 19, 2007. The facility consistently posts lost-time injury (LTI) frequencies that are well below the average of its Workplace Safety and Insurance Board rate group. It has achieved this by creating a comprehensive health and safety program that serves to maintain staff well-being and create greater awareness and understanding of health and safety in the workplace. Examples of these initiatives include simulated emergency preparedness planning exercises with the Windsor Fire Department, a monthly 101-point plant inspection, and a variety of employee wellness programs such as flu shot clinics.

“BASF Canada has done a great job of engaging everyone at this facility in the creation and maintenance of a healthy and safe workplace,” says Maureen Shaw, IAPA President and CEO. “The employees’ well-being is paramount here and this is demonstrated by BASF Canada ’s continuing investment in its health and safety systems. This Level III Award celebrates this achievement and is a great example of health and safety excellence in the workplace.”

"The IAPA program fits perfectly into BASF’s very own Journey to Ecology, Health and Safety Excellence program,” says Mark Thibault, Environmental Health & Safety Coordinator,BASF Canada Inc. “ The Journey is about ensuring a safe workplace for our employees and contractors and developing a zero incident mindset. Our 2007 performance and this award show that our programs do work and make a difference.”

To qualify for this top-level award, BASF Canada met IAPA’s Level III criteria as outlined in a self-assessment report. The firm successfully demonstrated legislative compliance, effective prevention methods and management practices, and LTI frequency that met IAPA requirements specific for all three levels of the awards program. This includes how a firm assesses and controls its hazards, as well as demonstrates a continued commitment to health and safety.

IAPA ’s three-level Health and Safety Awards program signifies a milestone in an organization’s journey towards workplace health and safety excellence. Companies are recognized for ensuring their health and safety systems meet industry standards and also for taking a proactive approach to health and safety management to ensure the well-being of their employees. The three-level program focuses on similar aspects of health and safety compliance and LTI frequency, with each level building on the previous one. To receive the Level III Achievement Award, a firm must meet more rigorous health and safety management and LTI frequency requirements.

BASF Canada is the 13 th company to receive the IAPA Level III Health & Safety Achievement Award. To date, 63 companies have received IAPA Achievement Awards since the program began in 2002.

BASF Canada produces and distributes engineering plastics, high-performance polymers, polystyrene, basic polyurethane chemicals, polyurethane systems and thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers, admixture, building and wall systems, intermediates, inorganics, petrochemicals, plasticizers and solvents, automotive coatings and refinishes, industrial coatings, colorants, textile chemicals, waxes, surfactants, chelating agents, latex dispersions, pigments and resins, biocides, detergent, printing systems, emulsifiers, paper coatings, dyes and additives, cosmetic active ingredients and vitamins, pharmaceutical actives and excipients, silicones, emollients, carotenoids, antiseptics, ultraviolet absorbers, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, CLEARFIELDTM Production Systems , enzymes, neutralizers, amino acids, and mould inhibitors for livestock feed.

BASF Canada is an affiliate of BASF Corporation. BASF Corporation, headquartered in New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF AG, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF employs about 16,000 people in North America and had sales of approximately $11.3 billion in 2005. For more information about BASF’s North American operations, visit www.basf.com/usa. To find out more about BASF’s activities in Canada, visit www.basf.ca.

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products, agricultural products, and fine chemicals to crude oil and natural gas. As a reliable partner to virtually all industries, BASF ’s intelligent system solutions and high-value products help its customers to be more successful. BASF develops new technologies and uses them to open up additional market opportunities. It combines economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility, thus contributing to a better future. BASF has approximately 94,000 employees and posted sales of more than €42.7 billion (approximately $50.4 billion) in 2005. Further information on BASF is available at www.basf.com.

IAPA is a not-for-profit, member driven organization operating in Ontario since 1917. Representing approximately 50,000 member firms and more than 1.5 million Ontario workers, IAPA is one of Canada’s leadi

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For more information, contact:

Lena Wan
Communications and PR Specialist, IAPA
Tel: 905-614-4272, ext. 2247
E-mail: lwan@iapa.ca

IAPA presented a Level III Health & Safety Achievement Award to BASF Canada Inc. 's Windsor facility on Friday February 8, 2008. Seen here are: (l-r) Mark Thibault (Environmental Health & Safety Coordinator, BASF), Irina Baluyot (Quality Manager, BASF Canada Inc.), Theresa Umbenhower (Occupational Health Nurse, BASF Canada Inc.), Guido Broche (Site Manager, BASF Canada Inc.), Maureen Shaw (President & CEO, IAPA), Teri Stewart (Applications Supervisor, BASF Canada Inc.), Rick Mittag (Union President, BASF Canada Inc.), Doug Innes (Technical Manager, BASF Canada Inc.)

Photo courtesy of BASF Canada Inc.