VSP Technologies is proud to acknowledge Eastman Chemical Company's receipt of the 2008 Chemical Safety Excellence Award, presented by CSX Transportation. The award reflects the company's commitment to rail car maintenance and safety practices for loading, unloading and shipping hazardous materials.

To be eligible, a company must ship 600 or more hazardous material railcars during the year on CSXT and have no non-accident related releases (NARs). An NAR is defined as a release of a hazardous material during transportation not related to an accident. In 2008, Eastman shipped more than 12,000 hazardous material tank cars (loads and empty residues) on CSXT without any NARs. In addition, during 2008 Eastman won the UP Pinnacle and BNSF Stewardship awards for shipping more than 12,000 hazardous tank car loads and empty residues without incident.

NARs can be caused by improper securement of a tank car allowing product or vapor to escape. Human error and mechanical failures are the predominant causes for NARS. Eastman's materials handling, tank car maintenance, tank car inspection and logistics groups collaboratively and continually work together to improve the company's performance in safety and protection of the environment.

"This award shows Eastman's commitment to transportation safety and attention to detail across all sites," says Jim Fleming, director of global logistics. "This award helps Eastman achieve our corporate safety and environmental goals and puts Eastman in a favorable position in the chemical industry and with government agencies. We applaud employee efforts which led to this outstanding performance."

"The achievement of zero non-accidental releases for all of 2008 is a great accomplishment," says James Frew, director of VSP Technologies' transportation division. "We are proud that our Ride-Tight fluid sealing management program can help support Eastman's efforts, and we applaud their achievement."

About Eastman Chemical Company

Eastman manufactures and markets chemicals, fibers and plastics worldwide. It provides key differentiated coatings, adhesives and specialty plastics products; is a major supplier of cellulose acetate fibers; and produces PET polymers for packaging. As a Responsible Care® company, Eastman is committed to achieving the highest standards of health, safety, environmental and security performance. Founded in 1920 and headquartered in Kingsport, Tenn., Eastman is a Fortune 500 company with 2008 sales of $6.7 billion and approximately 10,200 employees.