One of Eastman's Product Stewardship commitments is to conduct Product Regulatory and Risk Reviews to help minimize the potential for adverse effects on human health or the environment from exposure to our products, as well as to help ensure that product specific regulatory requirements are met.

Subject matter experts in product safety and health review the raw materials and final composition, the manufacturing process steps, and the end use of the product to help ensure risks associated with products, process materials, and samples are known and that appropriate controls have been implemented prior to commencement of manufacturing, use, sale, or shipment.

Outputs of this process include documented toxicity and regulatory reviews, Material Safety Data Sheets, and appropriate statements for product labels. These procedures are conducted in conjunction with the Eastman Product Commercialization Process.

High Production Volume (HPV) Chemical Testing Program

Another example of Eastman's commitment to good Product Stewardship is our participation in the Environmental Protection Agency's High Production Volume (HPV) challenge program that began in 2000. This was a voluntary program managed through the EPA as a key component of the Chemical Right-to-Know Initiative. Eastman is currently participating on a voluntary basis in the Extended High Production Volume (EHPV) program that has been established to collect information on chemicals that were not included in the original HPV program.

The goal of these programs is to make publicly available the baseline health and environmental screening data for chemicals that are manufactured or imported in excess of one million pounds.

There were approximately 2,800 chemicals in the HPV program, and over 500 more were added under the EHPV program. When the HPV program was initiated, Eastman was associated with 116 chemicals. Eastman and other companies completed data submissions in 2003 for all chemicals we volunteered to address. Eastman is currently managing 5 chemicals under the EHPV program; these chemicals have an anticipated data submission date of 2009. Several of the chemicals manufactured at Eastman have also been included in an HPV program that is globally managed by the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development). This program requires the assessment of more data and is accomplished through support of manufacturers on a global basis.