Three AIHA and NVLAP Accredited Labs now serving greater Los Angeles...

LA Testing has continued to make strides to satisfy their client base with the recent acquisition of a laboratory in Torrance, CA. The laboratory in Torrance provides asbestos testing by polarized light microscopy (PLM) and phase contrast microscopy. In addition, the laboratory also provides mold analysis of spore traps, tape lifts and culture plates. The laboratory is currently accredited by NVLAP and CA ELAP accredited for asbestos analysis and AIHA EMLAP for mold analysis.

Over the past several years, LA Testing has become a leading player in the Southern California environmental, indoor air quality, materials characterization and product testing marketplace. The South Pasadena, CA laboratory has built up a reputation as being the leading laboratory for soot identification testing utilized by many high end environmental professionals providing fire damage investigations throughout the state of California. The Los Alamitos laboratory is a full service industrial hygiene testing laboratory providing a wide range of analytical services to support industrial hygiene professionals throughout the west coast.

About LA Testing and EMSL Analytical, Inc.
The laboratories currently service clients internationally. Those clients include IAQ professionals, environmental consultants, abatement firms, restoration firms, environmental engineers, industrial hygienists, construction firms, engineering firms, remediation firms, contractors, mortgage companies, home inspectors, building inspection firms, carpet cleaners, duct cleaners, home owners, home builders, HVAC contractors, roofing companies, health and safety professionals, hospitals, doctors, manufacturing firms, management firms, real estate firms, landlords, mortgage companies, attorneys, testing firms, laboratories, schools, universities, forensic consultants, health departments, fortune 500 firms, and state, local and federal government agencies.

LA Testing and EMSL Analytical, Inc. currently operates 32 laboratories throughout the nation with full analytical services, including environmental microbiology (mold, bacteria, Legionella, Coliforms, indoor allergens, mycotoxins, endotoxins), DNA based polymerase chain reaction (PCR), asbestos, lead, indoor air quality, industrial hygiene, environmental chemistry, materials, forensic, failure, and mechanical testing. In addition to laboratory services, the firm provides mold management seminars, free IAQ seminars, and free sampling workshops at locations throughout the country.

EMSL Analytical currently holds accreditations with the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), including the AIHA Environmental Microbiology Laboratory Accreditation Program (EMLAP), the AIHA Environmental Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELLAP), the AIHA Industrial Hygiene Laboratory Accreditation Program (IHLAP), the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP), the New York Department of Health (NYDOH), TX DOH, CA E-LAP, and various other state, federal, and private accrediting bodies. The labs are also successful participants in AIHA's Proficiency Analytical Testing (PAT), Environmental Lead Proficiency Analytical Testing (ELPAT), and the Environmental Microbiology Proficiency Analytical Testing (EMPAT) programs. EMSL maintains a rigorous in-house QA/QC program to ensure our clients are receiving the most accurate and legally defensible results possible.

For further information, contact us at 1-800-755-1794 or for a complete list of offices, accreditations, and capabilities please visit LA Testing's website at www.LATesting.com or EMSL's at www.EMSL.com

— WebWireID108232 —

The 32 new locomotives will replace older diesel locomotives, says Edmund Schlummer, Head of Region Central and Member of the Management Board of DB Schenker Rail. By introducing the new locomotives, we are helping make rail transportation more eco friendly.

With a performance of 6,400 kW and a tractive effort on starting of 300 kN, the series-189 traction units from DB Schenker are intended for heavy freight trains along international routes.

In addition to the existing systems in Germany, the traction units also feature the ATB (first generation) and ETCS (level 1 and 2) train protection systems commonly used in the Netherlands. The locomotives will be compatible both with the traditional 1,500 volt direct current overhead line voltage traditionally used in the Netherlands and with the Betuwe route (25,000 volt alternating current).

— WebWireID108223 —

The Carbon Trust Standard is a UK Government certification that recognizes achievements in carbon management and reduction. Recipients of this prestigious award number less than 100 in the entire UK with only a handful of those being manufacturing-based companies. Delphi is the first automotive company to achieve this standard.

"We are very proud to be the first automotive company in the UK to be accredited with this prestigious standard" said Mark Andrews, Operations Support Group (OSG) Director for Delphi Europe, Middle-East and Africa. "This is further validation of Delphi's ability to apply its safe, green and connected philosophies not only to the products we sell but also to the facilities in which they are designed and manufactured."

Led by Peter Vallance from Delphi's OSG, this project involved a team of UK facility management personnel at Delphi sites in Gillingham, Stonehouse, Liverpool, Park Royal, Leamington Spa and Sudbury.

The Carbon Trust Standard recognises organisations that have genuinely acted on climate change and committed to ongoing emission reductions. The Standard also positions Delphi at the forefront of tackling climate change and related measures to reduce carbon emissions directly, rather than off-setting emissions through other means.

Some of the projects that have enabled Delphi to receive the Carbon Trust Standard are:

* Sudbury automated workplace shut off device
* Leamington and Gillingham Lighting projects
* Liverpool — HVAC (heating ventilation air conditioning modules) variable speed drives
* Stonehouse lighting, machine cooling and general awareness improvements

The total carbon reduction for all projects was 2,000,000 kilograms over a 2-year assessment period (January 2006 to December 2008).

As a responsible corporate citizen, Delphi is dedicated to protecting human health, natural resources and the global environment and will continue to seek to proactively minimize the environmental impact of its manufacturing processes through the implementation of innovative solutions.

— WebWireID108213 —

ARMONK, N.Y. and BALTIMORE. IBM (NSYE: IBM) today announced researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) are using IBM technology to analyze smoke patterns during wildfires. The goal of the research is to provide fire and public safety officials with a real-time assessment of the fire, allowing them to make more informed decisions on public evacuations and health warnings.

Current analysis of smoke patterns is limited to weather forecasting data that is updated every six hours, observations from front-line workers and low resolution satellite imagery. Using a cluster of IBM BladeCenter servers housed at the UMBC College of Engineering and Information Technology's Multicore Computational Center (MC2), the team of faculty and student researchers will be able to instantly process the massive amounts of data available from drone aircraft, high-resolution satellite imagery and air-quality sensors to develop more effective models for smoke dissipation.

According to the U.S. National Interagency Fire Center, wildfires present a serious and dangerous threat to commercial buildings, private homes and people. In the last year alone, there have been more than 76,000 individual fires, consuming an approximate 5.8 million acres. And according to the agency's recent Quadrennial Fire Review 2009, the threats are only expected to increase due to drier conditions associated with climate change and increasing population growth.

"By combining the resources and expertise of IBM and UMBC, together with data acquired from agencies like NASA, NOAA, EPA and the US Forest Service, we not only hope to protect the health and safety of neighboring communities, but also prevent the threats to their lives and property," said Dr. Milton Halem, director, UMBC's MC2. "We expect this research will be of great interest for many groups - especially in states where these types of fires are commonplace."

In addition to the IBM blade servers, researchers also will be using the recently announced IBM InfoSphere Streams, a technology designed to help organizations analyze information from any source; narrow it down what people are specifically looking for; and continuously refine the answer in real-time. Together, the UMBC team will have the first-ever opportunity to capture data from a network of surface, aerial and satellite sensors already established by organizations such as NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and provide more timely:

* identification of the location and progression of wildfires and smoke coverage;
* model forecast of fire and smoke behavior and plume dispersion for air quality monitoring;
* retasking of sensors to create new measurements;
* assistance by issuing real-time forecasts in the fire-fighting effort; and
* issuance of public safety and health alerts.

The research work is in-part funded by IBM's Shared University Research (SUR) awards program, which is designed to connect the research and researchers at universities with IBM Research, IBM Life Sciences, IBM Global Services and IBM's development and product labs. The SUR Awards program's goal is, among other things, to increase access to and successful use of IBM technologies for research and in curriculum.

"We are pleased to be working with the researchers at UMBC to create a breakthrough Smarter Planet application that will help save lives by predicting the movement of wildfires," said Bernie Meyerson, vice president of innovation and global university programs, IBM. "UMBC students and faculty will have access to IBM's latest hybrid computing platforms with incredibly fast predictive analytic capabilities."

The new system will be based on a set of blade servers designed by IBM, including the JS22, HS22 and QS22 models. Together, the computing power of the blades will help process a massive amount of real-time data streams of smoke plume models, helping discern the scope and projection of wildfire lines.

The UMBC MC2 research team is currently in the design stages of their monitoring technology, and expects to have a prototype available next year.

— WebWireID108211 —

Intertek (www.intertek.com), the leading provider of quality and safety services to a wide range of industries, will present a free one-hour online webinar on Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. EST providing an overview of environmental 'green' claims.

The webinar will provide insight into using validated green claims using your compliance as a competitive advantage. The topics will include important claims such as 'lead free', 'BPA free', '% recyclability', or 'Verified for Substances of Very High Concern'. Known standards for the US, Canada, and Europe will be reviewed as well as their relevance to Green Claims, and the appropriate steps and methodologies needed arrive at a validated Green Claim.

If you are promoting a product using a Green Claim or thinking about applying Green Claims to your advantage, this is a 'must see' webinar. Join us on December 3, 2009 at 2 p.m. EST for a free 1 hour webinar reviewing the requirements for green claims and to use these to achieve a competitive advantage.

Topics to be addressed:

• What are Green Claims
• Types of Green Claims
• Verified Green Claims
• US, Canadian, and European standards
• Risk factors and recent actions
• Methodologies to verify Green Claims
o Consumer products
o Professional products

Join us to learn more about how a verified green claim can provide your company the competitive edge you seek. For more information or to register for this webinar, please visit: http://www.intertek.com/events/2009/12-03-webinar-is-your-product-really-green/

— WebWireID108210 —

MONTPELLIER, FRANCE and ARMONK, In a region of France known for sunshine, agriculture and natural spring water, IBM (NYSE: IBM) has established a Center of Excellence for Water Management to use high performance computing to monitor and forecast the impact of climate change and severe weather conditions on water resources.

Based in Montpellier, France, the center is in the Languedoc Roussillon, a southern-facing region with abundant sunshine and seasonal, torrential rains causing millions of dollars worth of damages each year. More than 400 miles of levees exist to protect the 600,000 people living in potential flood zones.

'We have a unique opportunity, and unique ability, to apply our combined expertise in high performance computing, sensor networks and advanced analytics across a wide variety of water management challenges,' said Sharon Nunes, vice president, Big Green Innovations, IBM. 'We're modeling and simulating flash flooding scenarios, water management infrastructures, reservoir systems and more to develop new innovations for predicting, managing and sometimes even preventing events that might otherwise have a negative impact on a region's water supply.'

The center's high performance computing modeling capabilities combined with resilient sensor networks will enable fast, high resolution, large scale simulations based on multiple scenarios and options. With this ability, scientists can bring together a diverse set of information incorporating weather and climate changes, flood patterns, reservoir activity and more to develop new insights and innovations for smarter water management. Initiatives at the center are expected to complement those already underway with the county council including levee management, pollution reduction and sustained economic development.

One of the first projects slated for the Center of Excellence will be a collaborative effort by IBM and the ClusterEAU, an association of research laboratories, educational organizations and enterprises, to explore projects for advanced water resources management.. The ClusterEAU was formed to respond to the constantly growing needs for innovative proposals to face the issues of ensuring the concerted management of world water resources in a context of global changes and new challenges arising from human society: rapidly growing populations, energy challenges, economic and environmental issues in urban and rural development, globalisation of markets and services, emerging countries, stagnation in the poorest regions, and more.

'The new Center of Excellence will be a unique opportunity for us to establish strong collaborations with IBM and jointly promote our expertise in the field of advanced water resources management, particularly the computational aspects,' said Jean-Pierre Buchoud, president, ClusterEAU.

In 2008, IBM established centers of excellence for water management in Amsterdam, where the primary focus is on flood management and levee systems, and in Dublin, where the primary focus is to monitor, manage and forecast environmental challenges such as the movement of pollutants in fresh water, marine and oceanic environments.

IBM's smarter water management offering is part of its Big Green Innovations initiative, launched in October 2006 as part of IBM's $100 million investment in 10 new businesses generated by InnovationJam.

— WebWireID108203 —

The Copenhagen conference aims to lead to a global agreement on energy and climate that will take over from the Kyoto Protocol as of 2013, in the interest of containing the average increase in temperatures to below 2°C.

One of the major priorities of the conference is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions for all of the stakeholders, which include both emerging and industrialized nations and economies. The conference will also tackle the issue of adapting to the impacts of climate change, technology transfers and the implementation of mechanisms for financing these initiatives.

All of these issues are of critical importance for the future of our planet and world citizens.

Air Liquide participates in the fight against climate change by developing the innovative technologies that contribute to achieving reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, such as the capture and storage of CO2, and supplies the hydrogen that enables the production of cleaner fuels. The Group is also developing clean alternative energies, such as photovoltaic, second generation biofuels and hydrogen and fuel cells.

Energy and the Environment are part of the five growth drivers of Air Liquide, which invests more than 60% of its R&D budget in solutions aiming to preserve the environment and life.

In Copenhagen, Air Liquide will be present at the Bright Green exhibition on December 12 and 13 (Stand 58 – Energy Zone).

— WebWireID108201 —

MINNEAPOLIS, Honeywell (NYSE: HON) today announced a $79-million renewable energy and building retrofit program with Eastern Illinois University (EIU) in Charleston, Ill. The program, which combines energy-efficient facility upgrades with one of the largest biomass-fueled heating plants on a university campus, will help EIU address deferred maintenance, improve its infrastructure, and save approximately $140 million in energy and operating costs over the next two decades.

EIU will finance the improvements and use the savings, guaranteed by Honeywell through a 20-year performance contract, to pay for the work. As a result, the program will not place a burden on the university's budget, or require additional taxpayer dollars or student fees.

The upgrades will impact all facilities on the 320-acre campus, and significantly curb the university's energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. For example, they will reduce electricity consumption by an estimated 6.2 million kilowatt-hours per year — enough energy to power more than 580 homes annually. Carbon dioxide emissions will also decrease by nearly 20,000 metric tons each year. According to figures from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this is equivalent to removing more than 3,600 cars from the road.

'Like many universities, our list of needs across campus is much larger than the financial resources available,' said Bill Perry, president of Eastern Illinois University. 'This program allows us to make critical improvements and keep our facilities comfortable and functional for years to come. Plus, we're able to reduce our carbon footprint at the same time. It's an ideal solution for the university and surrounding community.'

The focal point of the program is the construction of a new steam plant on the southeast corner of campus that will be driven by two large biomass gasifiers, the first application of this technology in the region. The plant will use wood chips sourced from the local logging industry to generate steam and heat buildings on campus. And it will replace the university's aging steam plant, which is inconveniently located in the center of campus, consumes more than 10,000 tons of coal per year and requires constant maintenance.

Through biomass gasification, the wood chips are heated in an airtight, oxygen-deprived chamber until they break down to create a synthetic gas that burns similar to natural gas. The gas is then used to fire the boilers, giving the university a carbon-neutral solution for heating its facilities. As a result, all of the steam heating load for the university will be met through a renewable resource.

EIU chose the biomass system based on input from the Honeywell Renewable Energy Scorecard, a first-of-its-kind selection tool that analyzes location-specific details to pinpoint the technology with the most significant environmental and economic drivers.

As part of the new plant, Honeywell will also install a small turbine that uses excess steam to produce electricity. The turbine is expected to generate more than 2.9 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, reducing the amount of energy the university purchases from the grid and providing another environmentally friendly energy source.

Additional conservation measures include:
• Retrocommissioning all mechanical systems on campus to ensure efficient operation;
• Constructing a new high-voltage switch yard to consolidate two intake points for electricity, which will lower the university's utility rates.
• Updating the chilled water system to provide more flexibility in determining which chillers to use for its cooling needs;
• Replacing windows at five residence halls with double-pane insulating glass;
• Upgrading lighting fixtures and installing occupancy sensors throughout campus to help reduce energy use;
• Retrofitting plumbing systems to conserve water use;
• And sealing building envelopes to prevent the loss of warm and cool air.

Honeywell will also provide ongoing commissioning, and measurement and verification as part of the contract. The upgrades are expected to be complete by end of 2012.

'Using renewable energy not only delivers environmental benefits, it can also generate economic payback,' said Paul Orzeske, president of Honeywell Building Solutions.'Through guaranteed energy savings, organizations like Eastern Illinois University can make investments in their facility infrastructure and reduce carbon dioxide emissions without impacting the bottom line.'

— WebWireID108194 —

ARMONK, NY, IBM (NYSE: IBM) and the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC WASA) are working together to modernize the management of the aging water and sewer infrastructure hidden beneath the nation's capital. The sprawling infrastructure includes hundreds of thousands of assets such as water distribution pipes, valves, public fire hydrants, collection pipes, man holes and water meters.

IBM's Global Business Services and Research arms have started a new collaboration with DC WASA to integrate advanced analytics with IBM Maximo software and a mapping application from ESRI, an IBM Business Partner. The availability of real time, map-based information will help DC WASA engineers identify potential problems before they occur. This can be done by analyzing an enormous amount of data and uncovering patterns related to weather conditions, water use and hundreds of other variables.

The new preventative measures, including converting to automated meter readers, have substantially reduced billing-related customer calls. A future benefit of the project is that it will enable dispatchers to deploy crews based on where they are working and what areas need service, streamlining the workload and improving the customer experience.

The system will also enable DC WASA to share and exchange data both internally for planning purposes and externally to assist other agencies, such as sharing real-time status of the more than 9,000 public hydrants in DC with the DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services. Based on data from the IBM Maximo software, the hydrant status and water flow capacity of each hydrant can be seen by the fire department via Google Earth®. As firefighters are rushing to the scene, they will know in advance the level of water flow to expect out of the hydrants in the vicinity.

'Our work with IBM has allowed our assets to communicate with us – and we're doing more than just listening, we're taking action,' said Mujib Lodhi, CIO of DC WASA. 'Using IBM software, we're able to deploy our crews faster, which is key when there's water on the road or customers are without service. For day-to-day maintenance, the IBM software helps us to coordinate and plan our crews weeks ahead so we can work much more efficiently.'

The system, which dates back to the 1800s, had been maintained with paper records, which meant engineers had to go through paper files to find the status of individual assets. Now, with the integration of IBM Maximo software with a mapping application, DC WASA engineers can see a detailed map showing the location and condition of each asset at any given point in time – with just a push of a button.

'In cities like our nation's capital, water management systems date back more than one hundred years, yet now serve millions of residents and visitors,' said Sharon Nunes, vice president, Big Green Innovations, IBM. 'DC Water and Sewer Authority stands out because they understand this – and are willing to bring about significant change in the way they work in order to more intelligently manage this critical resource.'

DC WASA uses IBM Maximo Asset Management software to manage: all the wastewater treatment equipment, the water and sewer infrastructure at the Departments of Water and Sewer Services, the water quality issues maintained by the Water Quality Division, and for permit plan reviews and developer permitting.

DC WASA's Enterprise Asset Management Systems is a combination of IBM Tivoli Maximo Enterprise Asset Management software with the ArcGIS mapping application and an enterprise GIS (Geographic Information System) based on ESRI technology.

— WebWireID108188 —

CORNUCOPIA, WI – Two powerful lobby groups in the food industry, The Grocery Manufacturers of America and the Organic Trade Association, recently intervened as friends of the court in a federal consumer class-action lawsuit accusing the nation's largest supplier of private-label organic milk of consumer fraud. In what has been described as "the largest scandal in the history of the organic industry' USDA investigators, in 2007, found that Aurora Dairy had willfully violated federal organic standards. However, industry lobbyists are now concerned that convicting Aurora will set a dangerous legal precedent. Aurora bottles private-label organic milk for Wal-Mart, Costco, Target, Safeway and many other grocery chains.

In August 2007 Bush administration officials were widely criticized for overruling career staff at the USDA and instead of decertifying Aurora as staff had recommended, banning it from organic commerce, the corporate dairy was allowed to continue in business under a one-year probation. Now agribusiness lobbyists are concerned that citizens prevailing in court, alleging fraud, will set a precedent necessitating large corporations to incur added expenses to more carefully check the sources and credibility of their organic suppliers.

"Due diligence by food manufacturers and retailers is the heart and soul of what maintaining the integrity of the organic label is about," said Mark Kastel, Codirector of The Cornucopia Institute, the farm policy research group that initially exposed the corruption taking place at Aurora.

In an internal document, the Organic Trade Association told its membership that, "OTA is taking this action in order to protect consumers' access to organic products and the guarantee by organic farmers, producers and processors that their valid organic certificate fully demonstrates that their product is considered organic when marketed.' Lobbyists from the Grocery Manufacturers also were concerned that if the consumers prevail in this legal matter it would become, according to a copy written article in Sustainable Food News, "prohibitively expensive to continue developing organic products."

"This type of rhetoric is just a stick in the eye to the ethical participants in this industry who make it a point, in their everyday course of business, to judiciously assure that their products meet not only the letter but the spirit of the organic law,' added Kastel.

Just like Aurora Dairy, Wal-Mart and Target were both found to have misrepresented organic products in the marketplace and were the subject of separate USDA investigations.

"Yes, it does cost more money to legally and ethically participate in organic commerce, said Will Fantle, Research Director for Cornucopia. "One of the reasons that big-box retailers are able to undercut their competition on price is they refuse to hire, train and adequately compensate management and frontline employees who know anything about the organic law."

Aurora produces private label, or storebrand milk, for about 20 of the largest grocery chains in the United States.

In an ironic twist to this story Organic Valley, the nation's second-largest organic milk marketer and a cooperative, is receiving criticism for its underwriting of a brief supporting Aurora's position. The farmer-owned cooperative provided the financial support allowing the Organic Trade Association to file its amicus brief opposing the class-action lawsuit brought by consumers in over 40 states. The consumers allege that they were defrauded by the Colorado-based Aurora Dairy corporation.

The news of Organic Valley's involvement was a shock to some of its co-op members including Kevin Engelbert, a nationally recognized organic leader and dairy farmer from Nichols, New York. 'Can this possibly be true? Has OV made a pact with the devil? I know OTA is controlled by the big money interests," said Engelbert. "The 14 willful violations [by Aurora] prove that some organic certificates aren't enough to demonstrate that a product is organic when marketed. The 'organicness' of questionable products must be challenged when necessary to maintain organic integrity.'

The Cornucopia's Kastel said he was 'flabbergasted' that a cooperative owned by family farmers would stick up for a corporation at the heart of the biggest scandal in history in the organic food industry and he characterized Aurora as a "bad actor" and "bad aberration" in the industry where consumers can generally trust the organic label.

'Aurora's factory farm milk has injured the vast majority of Organic Valley's own farmer-members by depriving them of markets for their milk and unfairly driving down retail pricing. Earlier this year the cooperative cut the pay price to its members and required its farmers to reduce production because of a milk surplus in the marketplace — a surplus that would be much smaller if Aurora legitimately managed its dairy cows like Organic Valley's ethical dairy farmers,' Kastel added.

Cornucopia analysis, and USDA research, suggests that as much as a third of the nation's organic milk supply comes from giant factory farms. Another organic factory farm operator, Dean Foods, the country's largest milk marketer, and an OTA and GMA member, has been widely criticized in the organic community for procuring much of its milk for its Horizon brand from mega-dairies allegedly breaking the same rules as Aurora.

"If you connect the dots here you have to wonder why the management at Organic Valley is getting into bed with Aurora, Dean Foods and the most powerful lobbyists representing corporate agribusiness," Kastel lamented. "Not only would Organic Valley membership benefit from Aurora being banned from organics, but if the lobbyists concerns are true, and some of the largest corporate players that have been playing fast and loose with the rules decide to exit the organics, that will only pump up their brand's market share."

The friend of the court brief, opposing a lower court ruling, which was funded by Organic Valley, expresses fears about a precedent should consumers be compensated for any fraud committed by Aurora. Melissa Hughes, an in-house lawyer for Organic Valley, told the editor of Sustainable Food News, that if the appeal is upheld 'it could have vast implications on retailers, processors, handlers, and ultimately consumers.'

Analysts at Cornucopia strongly refute the contention that the Aurora matter would leave all organic marketers open to tort complaints by consumers. "Obviously, there is strong evidence for these consumers to believe they were defrauded by Aurora and the supermarket chains," Kastel said. "This is an exceptional situation not indicative of the industry as a whole."

Kastel cited the fact that Cornucopia sent certified letters to every one of Aurora's retailer customers informing them that the reputation of their store's label was at risk and encouraging them to take action. Only two marketers, the Publix supermarket chain in Florida and United Natural Foods International, the largest organic food distributor in the country, did the due diligence necessary and switched suppliers.

"The organic certification documents alone are not enough if evidence is brought to a marketer's attention that some kind of improprieties are taking place," Fantle added. "There is always the possibility that collusion or incompetence has taken place on the part of the supplier, certifier or the USDA."

A comprehensive investigative story that appeared in the pages of the Washington Post referenced the Aurora matter, and a cozy relationship between the powerful Washington lawyer and lobbyist for Aurora, Dean and the OTA, and the former director of the organic program at the USDA. Alleged malfeasance at the Department has sparked the interest of Congress and an expanded investigation is currently taking place by the Office of the Inspector General at the USDA.

'Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 charging the USDA with preventing fraud; protecting the interests of ethical industry participants and consumers,' observed Cornucopia's Kastel. 'The obvious allegation here is that the regulatory branch, the USDA under the Bush administration, failed to properly enforce the law. It is appropriate for citizens who feel they were defrauded to seek a judicial remedy,' he added.

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When the nation's largest organic milk producer Aurora dairy, with five "factory style' farms, in Colorado and Texas, each milking thousands of cows, entered the marketplace in 2004 they proudly stated that they would make organic milk more "affordable." What they didn't tell their customers was that their products would be more affordable, allowing them to undercut competitors in the marketplace, because they wouldn't go to the expense of meeting the strict federal regulations governing organic marketing.

In 2007, after investigating legal complaints filed by Cornucopia about Aurora's organic livestock practices, USDA staff concluded that Aurora had 'willfully violated' 14 tenets of federal organic regulations. Aurora was found by federal investigators to have been illegally confining their cattle to feedlots, brought in conventional cattle that could not comply with organic regulations and, most seriously, selling milk labeled as "organic" that did not meet the legal requirements.

In its formal letter to the company, USDA staff at the National Organic Program stated: 'Due to the nature and extent of these violations, the NOP proposes to revoke Aurora Organic Dairy's production and handling certifications under the NOP.'

But the powerful Washington-based lobby of Covington in Burling, representing Aurora, worked with the Bush administration officials at the USDA to instead allow the $100 million corporation to continue in the organic business with a one-year probation and some modest changes to their operations

The "sweetheart" settlement between Aurora and the USDA provoked a consumer led effort to seek justice in federal courts. Nineteen separate class action lawsuits were brought against Aurora and several national grocery retailers selling Aurora's suspect organic milk including Wal-Mart, Target and Safeway. The lawsuits claiming consumer fraud were eventually consolidated into a single case in the federal district court in St. Louis. Earlier this year, federal court judge E. Richard Webber dismissed the lawsuit on procedural grounds. An appeal has since been filed seeking to bring the merits of the lawsuit, which have not been heard, back before the court.

'OTA's action, apparently backed by CROPP [Organic Valley], infuriates me,' said Kevin Engelbert. 'I hope every person and organization that belongs to OTA drops their membership immediately.'

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The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit farm policy research group, is dedicated to the fight for economic justice for the family-scale farming community. Their Organic Integrity Project acts as a corporate and governmental watchdog assuring that no compromises to the credibility of organic farming methods and the food it produces are made in the pursuit of profit. The largest portion of its funding comes from individual members, mostly family-scale organic farmers. They can be found on the web at www.cornucopia.org.

— WebWireID108150 —

Marc Langenbrinck, Managing Director of the smart brand: 'With the start of the series production of the smart fortwo electric drive, the Hambach plant enters a new era – at the same time, the smart fortwo emphazises its pioneering role on the way to individual mobility with local zero-emissions in cities and urban areas. Its innovative battery-electric drive makes the smart fortwo electric drive the ideal vehicle for the city: it combines responsibility to the environment with driving fun and joie de vivre in a virtually perfect manner.'

The second-generation smart fortwo electric drive started now is equipped with the most modern lithium-ion-battery. As of 2012, the smart fortwo electric drive will be produced as a regular part of the smart product portfolio and will regularly be sold through the smart sales network.

First Milestones in 2007 and 2008

The smart brand has taken a pioneering role in electric mobility since 2007. Back then, 100 smart fortwo electric drives of the first generation went into practical customer operation under everyday conditions of city traffic in London. Feedback from this project has been very positive right from the start and confirmed the high degree of maturity of this vehicle concept.

Just one year later, the company introduced the second generation - which is now being produced - with an even more advanced electric drive and an innovative, highly efficient lithium-ion battery. Lithium-ion technology has decisive advantages over other types of batteries including higher performance, shorter charging times, a long life and high reliability. In addition, a smart fortwo electric drive can be charged at a regular household power outlet.

A story of success: The smart Plant in Hambach

The smart plant in Hambach was inaugurated in 1997. Since 1998, it has produced the smart fortwo, since 2007 in its current generation. In 2008, more than 800 employees of the plant and some further 800 people employed by seven system partners produced about 140,000 units of the smart fortwo. In September 2008, the brand celebrated its tenth anniversary along with the 1-millionth smart fortwo produced at the Hambach plant.

The Hambach plant has represented an innovative production concept since its beginning: The assembly line in the shape of a plus sign has been designed to optimally meet the demands of assembly and logistics and ensures highly efficient production processes. This principle enables the system partners to supply modules directly to the assembly line, which reduces transport and logistics efforts to a minimum and hereby also provides an advantage regarding ecological aspects. In addition, the environmentally friendly and cost effective paint shop, an energy concept with numerous savings opportunities and the construction principle of the vehicles ensure that the ecological product responsibility of the smart brand is translated into the production.

About smart

Environmental friendliness and contemporary functionality have been defining features of the smart fortwo ever since it was launched more than ten years ago. Since then its innovative concept has combined sustainable, forward-looking technologies with individual urban mobility. With a length of just over two and a half meters, the extremely compact and fuel-efficient vehicle brings its occupants to their destination comfortably and safely. Its distintive design made smart an automotive lifestyle icon which shows that mobility, responsibility to the environment and joie de vivre are compatible with one another. The smart fortwo has established a class of its own.

Today, smart is present in 41 markets around the globe, with most recent market launches in China and Brazil. Germany, Italy, and the U.S. are key markets.

— WebWireID108118 —

Los Alamitos, CA

BTEX is an acronym for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene. They are all volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in petroleum hydrocarbons. Contamination of soil and groundwater from BTEX has occurred at petroleum and natural gas production areas, gas stations and areas with underground and above-ground storage tanks of petroleum products. The compounds are also produced in large scale by industry for industrial use as solvents and for manufacturing materials such as plastics and pesticides.

All four VOCs can cause significant health effects. Benzene is a colorless liquid that readily evaporates into the air or can dissolve in water. Exposure to benzene can cause dizziness, unconsciousness and can lead to anemia and leukemia. Toluene is also a colorless liquid that is found in crude oil and from the gasoline manufacturing process, it is reported to damage the nervous system.

Exposure to ethylbenzene can cause eye and throat irritation and dizziness. Animal studies have shown exposure can cause hearing damage and kidney damage in test animals. High levels of exposure to xylene, for short or long periods, can cause dizziness, confusion, balance problems and headaches. It has also been shown to cause eye and respiratory problems and possible changes to the liver and kidneys.

LA Testing, an affiliate of EMSL Analytical and a leading environmental testing laboratory, has been offering testing solutions for BTEX and other VOCs to help protect people and the environment. The company provides a complete suite of testing methods including TO-15, NIOSH 1500/1501 and OSHA 07.

'Contamination from BTEX compounds is all too familiar around locations with petroleum products,' reported Ben Sublasky, National Director of Client Services for LA Testing and EMSL Analytical. 'LA Testing has the technical resources and expertise to help environmental health and safety professionals test for these dangerous compounds,' Sublasky continued.

To learn more about BTEX and other VOC testing services please visit www.LATesting.com, email info@LATesting.com or call (800) 755-1794.

About LA Testing and EMSL Analytical, Inc.
LA Testing and EMSL Analytical are providers of environmental testing services and products to professionals and the general public. The companies have an extensive list of accreditations from leading organizations as well as state and federal regulating bodies.

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SC09, PORTLAND, Ore., LSI Corporation (NYSE: LSI) today announced that Météo France, the French national weather forecasting agency, has upgraded the performance and efficiency of its supercomputers by implementing an SGI® InfiniteStorage 4600 storage solution based on the LSITM Engenio® 7900 HPC storage system.

Météo France collects and stores extraordinarily large volumes of meteorological data about Earth's oceans, atmosphere and snow cover, which are then processed by a range of supercomputing applications including weather, marine and pollution forecasting. Météo France needed a new storage solution that could handle both existing data volumes and support data growth of 15 percent per year. The storage solution also had to enable daily data transfers of more than 16 terabytes between disk and tape and allow users to quickly browse through nearly ten million small files.

"The faster the supercomputer is able to write results, the more time and money we save," said Alain Beuraud, head of HPC and Storage Department at Météo France. "We needed reliable, high performance storage that could handle the enormous data volumes while also providing us with the flexibility to store less active or older data on cheaper media."

The SGI InfiniteStorage 4600 solution, based on the LSI Engenio 7900 HPC system technology, currently contains more than 400 terabytes of data and enables data transfer rates of up to 4 GB/s. To meet Météo France's annual data growth rates, the system offers initial capacity of up to one petabyte through a combination of Fibre Channel and high-capacity SATA drive enclosures.

The system's high-density LSI Engenio DE6900 SATA drive enclosure can house 60 3.5-inch SATA drives in a 4U space. The enclosure allows Météo France to more efficiently utilize its limited IT space, enabling a 480TB system to reside within a standard 19-inch rack. The high density offered by the DE6900 enclosure can reduce power consumption by more than 30 percent and floor space by more than 65 percent.

"LSI Engenio storage systems are trusted by leading OEMs and end users to deliver the performance and reliability required by the world's most demanding applications," said Steve Hochberg, senior director, worldwide HPC segment, LSI. "The combination of the low-cost, high-density SATA drive enclosure with the 7900 HPC storage system provides Météo France with exceptional price-performance, high scalability and significant cost savings through reduced power consumption and floor space."

The Engenio 7900 HPC storage system is architected for complex and high-bandwidth application environments that store and utilize vast amounts of data. The system combines industry-leading performance with advanced availability and reliability features designed to provide continuous high-speed data accessibility and protection across a wide range of HPC environments. Together, the 7900 HPC system and DE6900 enclosures enable users to implement a tiered storage solution by using both high-performance Fibre Channel drives and low-cost, high-capacity SATA drives.

The LSI Engenio 7900 HPC storage system with the DE6900 drive enclosure is available today through select OEM partners, including SGI. More information on the 7900 system is available at www.lsi.com/7900hpc.

About LSI

LSI Corporation (NYSE: LSI) is a leading provider of innovative silicon, systems and software technologies that enable products which seamlessly bring people, information and digital content together. The company offers a broad portfolio of capabilities and services including custom and standard product ICs, adapters, systems and software that are trusted by the world's best known brands to power leading solutions in the Storage and Networking markets. More information is available at www.lsi.com.

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Austin, TX, In a joint partnership with the City of Austin, Daimler is launching its groundbreaking car2go pilot project in North America today. The innovative mobility concept makes city driving as easy as using a mobile phone. It offers Austin an easy, flexible, reasonably priced and progressive solution to the growing challenges of urban mobility. Austin becomes the official headquarters of car2go North America LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler. The first pilot phase starts with 200 smart fortwo vehicles and a defined group of users. At some point in 2010, the number of cars will be increased and car2go will be made accessible to all Austin residents and students.

The car2go system is straightforward. 200 smart fortwo vehicles are made available within the city for all registered car2go members. This fleet of vehicles can be accessed 24/7. After a one-time registration process, the customers can use the service on the spot by accessing any available vehicle on the street, or can book in advance through the online reservation process. One significant difference from traditional car-sharing programs is that car2go offers cars on demand and the customers may use the vehicle for as long as they like, without committing to a specific return time. Furthermore, car2go allows users to make one way trips. Charges are not based on distance, but on time – with rates starting by the minute.

'car2go is an innovative answer to current and future mobility needs in urban areas', says Dr. Thomas Weber, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. 'We are pleased with the success we achieved in Ulm, Germany – the first car2go city - and we are ready for the next logical step on our way to an international rollout.'

Austin becomes first international partner for car2go

The City of Austin is the first North American city to partner with car2go. This launch follows the successful implementation of the first car2go pilot in October 2008 in the southern German city of Ulm.

The 200 smarts of the first pilot are rented 500 to 1,000 times per day and they are used by 15,000 customers which equals more than 15 percent of the citizens who possess a driver's license in Ulm. 90 percent of the participants take advantage of the unique offer to use car2go spontaneously without booking in advance and for one-way trips.

'The City of Austin is committed to identifying and implementing solutions to address the challenges associated with urban growth, mobility and environmental sustainability,' said Mayor Lee Leffingwell. 'This pilot-program partnership between car2go and the City of Austin represents a significant step toward helping us alleviate congestion, reduce emissions and increase the use of public transportation.'

For the pilot, the pick up and drop off area is limited to the greater downtown Austin area which has an expansion of about 17 square miles where more than 60,000 employees work. The use of a car2go vehicle includes all city-controlled parking fees: No need to feed the meters! car2go is paying a usage fee to the City of Austin in the form of free driving minutes for employees driving on City business.

'Facilitating innovative transportation solutions is integral to the City of Austin's goal of becoming the best-managed city in America,' said City Manager Marc Ott. 'By promoting large-scale car sharing, we can help address mobility challenges in and around our urban core, ultimately reducing the burden on city center traffic and parking.'

More than 13,000 city employees have the opportunity to use the smart vehicles not only for business but also for private use. Billing is handled with the same degree of simplicity and flexibility as every aspect of car2go – the rates are all-inclusive: fuel, maintenance, insurance, miles and parking. Competitive hourly or daily rates apply to longer rental periods. The trademark of car2go is its user friendly system, developed to meet and exceed the needs of customers. A car2go service team on the ground will handle daily maintenance of the vehicles. The service team will also ensure the vehicles are fueled and clean. If customers want to refuel the vehicles by themselves, they can use a pre-paid credit card found in the glove compartment of the car2go. The time for refueling the car will be credited to the customer with 10 minutes of free driving.

'The goal of the Austin pilot project is to gather experience we can use to ensure the public launch of car2go in North America in 2010 is successful,' says Nicholas Cole, CEO of car2go North America LLC. 'In the second phase we will increase the number of cars in Austin and open the service to the public. We are also talking to a large number of cities in North America and Europe about additional rollouts of car2go.'

The smart fortwo vehicles for the Austin pilot phase are provided by the smart USA Distributor LLC. The vehicle size and its maneuverability are perfect for car sharing programs in urban areas.

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New York, N.Y - Today, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, together with Central Park Conservancy President Douglas Blonsky and Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe announced a $1 million donation from Chase to the Conservancy to restore and replant areas of Central Park that were devastated by an unusually severe storm on August 18, 2009. The Mayor recognized the efforts of several Conservancy workers who worked tirelessly after the storm to secure and remove damaged trees and reopen the very damaged northern third of Central Park. Also on hand was Thomas L. Kempner, Jr., Chairman of the Central Park Conservancy's Board of Trustees.

At the Great Hill - one of the areas most damaged by the August storm - Mayor Bloomberg, Mr. Dimon, Mr. Blonsky and Commissioner Benepe planted a 12 foot-tall sapling to kick-off the restoration process, funded largely by Chase's donation. Thirty local students from Thurgood Marshall Academy and the Young Women's Leadership School of East Harlem took part, and planted flagged stakes in spots on the Hill where trees were lost.

"The August thunderstorm ripped through the city, causing some of the most extensive damage to Central Park in modern memory," said Mayor Bloomberg. "During the three weeks that followed the storm, Central Park Conservancy and Parks Department staff and volunteers worked around the clock to clear the debris. Their dedicated work and this generous gift from Chase will allow us to complete almost all of the post-storm restoration projects that we still have left to do in Central Park."

"New York City is the heart of our operations, and Central Park is the heart of New York," said JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon. "JPMorgan Chase has been a steadfast supporter of the Park for decades. There was no question; we knew we needed to move quickly to restore a place that is such an integral part of New Yorkers' lives."

"The Park is more than 843 acres of historic landscapes, trees and water bodies - it's a part of the fabric of this city and our lives," said Doug Blonsky, Conservancy President. "When thousands of Park friends saw the storm's destruction, they were moved to help. So was Chase, a generous longtime supporter of the Park. With Chase's help, we will create new landscapes that generations of Park patrons will cherish as much as the ones we lost."

"In the space of half an hour on the night of August 18, a freak blast of wind devastated thousands of trees in New York City, knocking down over 500 in Central Park alone. For a while, the north end of Central Park looked like a logging camp," said Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe. "Thanks to the hard work of the Central Park Conservancy, the road to restoration is well underway but much needs to be done to replant the damaged areas while taking this opportunity to increase plant diversity, encourage wildlife and improve the park's vistas. The City is especially grateful to J.P. Morgan Chase for their extraordinarily generous donation toward this effort."

The severe storm that tore through parts of Manhattan the evening of August 18, 2009 destroyed more than 500 trees in Central Park -some of them older than the Park itself. One thousand more trees were damaged, and landscapes were devastated. Especially in the 275-acre northern end of the Park, downed trees and limbs knocked over light poles, tore through fences and destabilized soil. Conservancy crews swung into action immediately, assessing the damage and beginning the arduous process of carefully cutting down, stacking and chipping damaged trees. In the first three weeks after the storm, the round-the-clock efforts of 26 tree crews dealt with a majority of the damage. A staggering 90 metric tons of wood chips were processed in that time.

Chase's $1 million contribution, the largest of any single donor giving to the restoration process, will restore lost landscapes and plant new trees throughout the Park, especially in the areas of the Great Hill and the Ravine, two areas most profoundly affected by the storm. The bank has a rich history of supporting Central Park and activities in the park, dating back to the first Corporate Challenge race held at the Park in 1977, and began its support for the Central Park Conservancy within the first year of the organization's formation. Today, Chase supports public cultural, educational, and environmental programs in the Park such as the Harlem Meer Performance Festival, the Urban Horticulture & Ecology Training Program, Camp Central Park and the Catch & Release Fishing Program.

Chase, through JPMorgan Chase and its Foundation, has given over $100 million in financial support to non-profit organizations every year in the last five years. In New York City, the bank has been a strong philanthropic supporter of affordable housing, foreclosure prevention and financial education efforts, in addition to significant investments in kindergarten through high school public education.

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The Impacta-Regupol line of recycled, rubber-based floor underlayment products is both innovative and environmentally friendly. These products are designed to reduce impact noise in the floor-ceiling assembly and for use in vibration isolation, under machinery and in construction applications in isolating concrete slabs. For specific product information visit www.impacta-regupol.com

Sound Seal, a pioneer in the advancement of acoustical systems for over 30 years and an industry leader in the acoustics field in innovative product design and manufacturing capabilities, was founded in 1978 by Rich Mulcahy and Barry Lyons with the vision to manufacture a quality product, at a reasonable price with great customer service. Headquartered in Agawam, Massachusetts in a state of the art 50,000 square foot facility, Sound Seal has stayed true to this vision and consists of three product divisions. The Industrial division which deals with in-plant noise control, the Architectural division which handles interiors and the Impacta flooring division which deals with floor underlayments. For more information visit www.soundseal.com

Regupol America LLC, founded in 1954, an American subsidiary of German-based, BSW, is a third generation company is known for production of high-quality recycled rubber specially formulated to control noise and vibration. The company uses over 115M pounds of rubber in the manufacturing process with product distribution in over 100 countries. Regupol America's rubber-based flooring is made of 100% postconsumer tire rubber, post-industrial EPDM rubber and additional renewable resources. For more information visit www.regupol.com

'The Original Regupol Rubber – Accept no Imitation'

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For the past three years Peter Veloz has guided UVDI as Co-Chairman of the Board. In his additional role as President and CEO, Mr. Veloz will oversee the company's strategic growth initiatives. Peter stated, 'I grew up in this industry and I'm passionate about continuing the vision for UVDI established by my father. The Veloz family has been associated with the UV and disinfection industries for over 60 years and I am honored to continue the tradition. I thank our employees, customers and partners for supporting UVDI as we further build upon our strong foundations of people, technology, products and community'

UVDI is a market leader in the application of Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) technologies and is also known for its Sparks Technology™ molecular filtration products. UVDI is ISO 9001:2000 certified and conducts research, development and manufacturing at their 50,000 square foot facility in Valencia, California. UVDI's cutting edge technologies not only protect human health and the environment, but also reduce building energy consumption and maintenance costs. To learn more about UVDI please visit www.UVDI.com, email info@UVDI.com or call (877) 787-3882.

About UltraViolet Devices, Inc.
UVDI is a leading manufacturer and supplier of UV products for both air, surface and water disinfection. Under the ALTRU-V® brand, UVDI markets a full line of UV-C products for the HVACR market, providing the key benefits of reduced energy consumption and lower maintenance costs while delivering cleaner, healthier air. Sparks Technology™ advanced filtration brand provides bonded activated carbon and for use in commercial and industrial applications worldwide.

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Los Alamitos, CA

In a landmark case a woman has been granted disability benefits for mold-related injuries. The Social Security Administration judge in the case accepted expert medical testimony that linked physical and cognitive injuries to mold exposures.

In February of 2007 the woman was temporarily sent to the U.S. Virgin Islands by her employer for a work assignment. The employer provided housing to the retail sales manager for her stay on the islands. The woman claimed that exposure to mold in the residence caused her a number of health problems including memory loss, excessive fatigue and a hypersensitivity to various chemicals making her incapable of being able to continue to work.

Medical experts hired by the woman have testified that she suffers mold mycotoxicosis that has resulted in immune toxicity and encephalopathy. The judge in the case ruled in favor of the woman who is now eligible for disability benefits.

LA Testing, an affiliate of EMSL Analytical and a leading indoor air quality (IAQ) testing laboratory, has been on the forefront of providing testing solutions for property owners and environmental professionals facing IAQ problems. The company provides a complete suite of testing services for mold, bacteria, mycotoxins, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other indoor contaminants.

'This landmark case really brings to light the damaging effects of mold and mycotoxin exposure,' reported Ben Sublasky, National Director of Client Services for LA Testing and EMSL Analytical. 'With increased awareness of the dangers of mold exposure many of these cases could potentially be averted,' Sublasky continued.

LA Testing has made a series of educational tools available at their website to educate people about the dangers of mold and other indoor air quality contaminants. These tools are available free to the public and environmental and healthcare professionals. To learn more about mold and other indoor air quality testing services please visit www.LATesting.com, email info@LATesting.com or call (800) 755-1794.

About LA Testing and EMSL Analytical, Inc.
LA Testing and EMSL Analytical are providers of environmental testing services and products to professionals and the general public. The companies have an extensive list of accreditations from leading organizations as well as state and federal regulating bodies.

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The unit started up as initially planned. With a nameplate capacity of 750,000 tonnes of MEG per annum, it is one of the largest in the world, reinforcing Shell's ambitions to maintain a leading position in the expanding Asian petrochemicals market.

The Shell Eastern Petrochemicals Complex also includes a new 800,000 tonnes per annum ethylene cracker, a butadiene plant and modifications to Shell's Bukom refinery, which are planned to start up in early 2010.

Mark Williams, Shell Downstream Director, said: 'The commissioning of the MEG plant is a significant step towards the completion in early 2010 of the Shell Eastern Petrochemicals Complex in Singapore (SEPC). SEPC is our largest investment in Singapore and our largest petrochemicals investment to date, reinforcing our intention to continue to grow our Chemicals business selectively and to anticipate the needs of our customers in Asia.'

'When SEPC is fully operational,' Williams continued, 'it will be our biggest, fully-integrated refinery and petrochemicals hub, from which we will enjoy economic and efficiency benefits in terms of feedstocks, operations and logistics.'

The Singapore MEG plant marks another technology first for Shell. It is the first time Shell is using its award-winning OMEGA processing technology. The OMEGA process gives the highest commercial yields of MEG from ethylene.'

The new plant is on Jurong Island in Singapore, an ideal location to serve Asian customers from within the region. Asia currently accounts for around 70 per cent of global MEG consumption and much of the new capacity will be destined for China where the demand for MEG continues to grow.

Notes to editors

MEG is a vital ingredient for polyester fibres and film, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resins and engine coolants. End uses range from clothing and packaging to kitchenware and antifreeze.

The annual output from the MEG plant could make more than two million tonnes of polyester, enough to manufacture 6.7 billion polyester shirts – more shirts than there are people in the world.

The Shell OMEGA (Only MEG-Advantaged) process gives the highest commercial yields of MEG from ethylene. OMEGA plants also consume less steam; wastewater production is much lower; and the capital cost for a new OMEGA plant is about 10 per cent less than for a traditional plant with the same MEG capacity. CO2 emissions are also significantly reduced per tonne of MEG produced.

Cautionary note
The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate entities. In this press release 'Shell', 'Shell group' and 'Royal Dutch Shell' are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words 'we', 'us' and 'our' are also used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies. ''Subsidiaries'', 'Shell subsidiaries' and 'Shell companies' as used in this press release refer to companies in which Royal Dutch Shell either directly or indirectly has control, by having either a majority of the voting rights or the right to exercise a controlling influence. The companies in which Shell has significant influence but not control are referred to as 'associated companies' or 'associates' and companies in which Shell has joint control are referred to as 'jointly controlled entities'. In this press release, associates and jointly controlled entities are also referred to as 'equity-accounted investments'. The term 'Shell interest' is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect (for example, through our 34% shareholding in Woodside Petroleum Ltd.) ownership interest held by Shell in a venture, partnership or company, after exclusion of all third-party interest.

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Royal Dutch Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ''anticipate'', ''believe'', ''could'', ''estimate'', ''expect'', ''intend'', ''may'', ''plan'', ''objectives'', ''outlook'', ''probably'', ''project'', ''will'', ''seek'', ''target'', ''risks'', ''goals'', ''should'' and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this press release, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for the Group's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserve estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including potential litigation and regulatory effects arising from recategorisation of reserves; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and (m) changes in trading conditions. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shell's 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2008 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov - opens in new window). These factors also should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, 17 November 2009. Neither Royal Dutch Shell nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) permits oil and gas companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only proved reserves that a company has demonstrated by actual production or conclusive formation tests to be economically and legally producible under existing economic and operating conditions. We use certain terms in this press release that SEC's guidelines strictly prohibit us from including in filings with the SEC. U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov - opens in new window. You can also obtain these forms from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.

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