KINGSPORT, Tenn., June 6, 2006—Accelerated aging testing of plastics used in medical packaging applications is a process that must be exact and accurate. Eastman Chemical Company has developed a technical tip that is now available on the company's Web site that provides guidelines for the proper aging of its Eastar™ copolyester 6763 used in medical packaging.

Package material aging information is needed to insure package integrity, satisfy current FDA validation requirements, and provide evidence of sterility and fitness-for-use over a product's life cycle. To decrease the time required for testing prior to device commercialization, manufacturers perform accelerated aging studies on the product/package combination. An important aspect of the aging of plastics is physical aging. The physical properties of plastics can improve or deteriorate over time as a plastic is held below its glass transition temperature.

The new technical tip, titled Accelerated Aging of Eastar™ Copolyester 6763 in Medical Packaging – US (TT-71), is available on Eastman's Web site at http://www.eastman.com/Literature_Center/T/TT71.pdf .

About Eastman Chemical Company
Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN) manufactures and markets chemicals, fibers and plastics worldwide. It provides key differentiated coatings, adhesives and specialty plastics products; is the world’s largest producer of PET polymers for packaging; and is a major supplier of cellulose acetate fibers. Founded in 1920 and headquartered in Kingsport, Tenn., Eastman is a FORTUNE 500 company with 2005 sales of $7 billion and approximately 12,000 employees.

For more information about Eastman and its products, visit www.eastman.com or contact Lucy Stewart, global trade media relations, at +1-423-229-4229 or globalmediarelations@eastman.com.