The new air monitor in Sayler Park is showing very low levels of chemicals in the air from the INEOS plant in Addyston, and those levels are not considered a risk to human health by the Ohio EPA and other regulators.“When we first put the monitor in, we thought we might see higher chemical concentrations, but that has not been the case,” said Mike Kramer of the Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency. “The concentrations are still at the sub part per billion level, so that’s really good.” The monitor was moved to its new location off Kibby Lane in Sayler Park in August 2012. Prior to that, the monitor operated for more than six years on the roof of the former Hitchens school in Addyston.The sampling at the school was discontinued in 2011 after Hitchens was

scheduled for demolition. The Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency conducted extensive computer modeling using local wind data (average wind speed and direction) to find the best new location for the monitor. After discussions with the Ohio EPA, the plant and local citizens on the plant’s Public Advisory Group, the agency ultimately selected the Kibby Lane site. It’s located northeast of the INEOS plant (wind most commonly blows from southwest to northeast) and is significantly closer to the plant’s flare. “The Sayler Park spot is about the perfect spot,” said Kramer. “We didn’t put the monitor there originally because the community wanted it at the school.”The air monitor was originally installed at the school in 2005 because of

Clearing the Air in Addyston:

Plant Now Burning Cleaner Fuel: Natural Gas

New Air Monitor Shows Good Results

This community newsletter is published by the INEOS Public Advisory Group (PAG).

Looking Back on 20132013 has been an eventful but good year for us. Working safely and with respect for

the environment is our highest priority and will remain our biggest challenge in the years to come.We took a step in the right direction in 2013 with a reduction in

“small” events (e.g., minor injuries, minor releases). Our goal is to continue on that trend and to also eliminate more serious injuries and EPA-reportable releases and spills.From an economic standpoint, we are forecasting to hit our financial targets. This is due to the revival of the US economy and our products performing well in the market place. Hitting our targets is key to maintaining shareholder confidence. What is maybe more important this year is that we have been able to invest in our plant for the long run. You will hear more in this newsletter about our new natural gas-fired boiler and new nitrogen plant, among other initiatives. Those investments have represented a lot of efforts from our folks, a lot of money from our shareholders and have caused some hiccups along the road. However, they are key in ensuring a future for our plant. I would like to finish by thanking you — our neighbours — for your support and by wishing you and your families a very happy 2014.

Addyston, Ohio 2014

SIGHTIN

The plant is now running a boiler fueled by natural gas instead of coal.As a result of the switch in fuels, the new boiler now emits significantly fewer air pollutants. Sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrochloric acid and particulate emissions have been reduced by about 80% (or 550 tons) annually and greenhouse gas emissions (e.g. carbon dioxide) have been reduced by about 99% (or 75,000 metric tons). The new boiler also has reduced truck traffic to and from the plant by about 20%, as trucks are no longer needed to bring coal into the plant or to take coal ash to the landfill. “We switched to natural gas because of more stringent regulations on coal-fired boilers,” said Tim Benter, the plant’s Health, Environmental & Safety (HES) manager. “It was less expensive to

install a new natural gas-fired boiler than to install a scrubber.” The boiler produces steam used in plant processes. It also serves as an air pollution control device that destroys (burns) emissions, mainly acrylonitrile and styrene. “You will still see a large white plume coming from the boiler area,” said Benter. “That is actually unused steam that we vent off.”

Eric CassisaSite Director

(continued on back page)

New natural gas boiler at the plant

Plant Upgrades and Safety Improvements

Plant Hires New Air Quality Engineer

Brad Fattlar, new Air Quality Engineer

The plant spent nearly $1 million in 2013 on plant upgrades and safety improvements, and more projects are planned for 2014.2013 UpgradesImprovements included:

w Adding new platforms for employees to access the top of railcars and trucks to prevent falls.

w Adding new computerized process controls.w Eliminating employee handling of heavy sulfuric acid totes. The plant installed a permanent sulfuric acid tank that will be filled by an outside vendor. w Upgrading the nitrogen plant. Nitrogen is an inert gas that is added to tanks and process equip- ment such as reactors to prevent fires and explosions.

Adding nitrogen to tanks and equipment (referred to as a “nitrogen blanket”) prevents the buildup of oxygen, which can be flammable. The plant’s nitrogen plant is owned and operated by Air Products, a third-party vendor. The plant paid for the infrastructure to allow Air Products to upgrade the aging plant.

Planned 2014 UpgradesImprovements will include:w Adding new computerized process controlsw Eliminating employee handling of bags of additives and colorants. The plant will install a new automated handling system with dust control. This will negate the need for employees to carry the 50-pound bags. Employees have experienced a number of strains while picking up the bags.

New nitrogen plant

Safety first

Brad Fattlar has engineering in his blood. Brad, the plant’s new air quality engineer, is the son of two chemical engineers. “I was good at math and science and especially chemistry,” said Brad, who earned his chemical engineer-ing degree from The Ohio State University. “Engineering always felt like the best fit.”Brad is in charge of the plant’s air permits and regulatory reporting. “Each day is different,” he said. “Lately I’ve been trying to get out more to talk to people in the field. It’s important to meet the techni-cians and look at the different jobs, see what’s going on and identify the potential risks.”

Got Questions? Join the INEOS PAGDo you ever wonder what goes on at the plant? Do you see, hear or smell things that make you curious or concerned? If so, please consider joining our Public Advisory Group (PAG). We are actively seeking new community members.The PAG, which is led by a third-party facilitator, meets from 5-7 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of every other month, with locations rotating among Addyston, Miami Township, North Bend and Sayler Park. Our next meeting is February 27 in Addyston. For more details, please contact the PAG facilitator, Deb Leonard, at (513) 515-1041 or dleonard@eqm.com or visit the PAG website at www.ineos.com/en/businesses/INEOS-ABS/, click on SHE, then Public Advisory Group.

Why I Joined the PAG“I joined the PAG in 2007, shortly after my husband and I moved to Addyston. I had read the newspaper reports and was curi-ous to find out more. Since joining, I have learned a great deal about what is made in the plant and its operations. The reports made to the PAG by plant representatives demonstrate their care and commitment to their neighboring communities.”Rhonda Carter, Addyston resident

Do you have a complaint about odors, noise or dust from our plant or another concern? Please call us at (513) 467-2400 and press “2” to speak to a shift supervisor. We will respond to your call 24/7 and if needed send a plant representative to your home or business to document your concern. Please call as soon as you notice the odor, noise or dust so we can determine whether it’s coming from a specific plant process or activity.

Got a Complaint? Call us 24/7

Plant Upgrades and Safety Improvements

A Day In The Life... Clyde Fraley, Tank Farm TechnicianThe first thing Clyde Fraley does at work each morning is take off his motorcycle boots and put on a pair of steel-toed shoes and rubber booties.A 28-year veteran of the plant, Clyde works in the Tank Farm. He lives in Delhi Township and rides his Honda Gold Wing motorcycle to work every day – rain or shine.The Tank Farm includes about 31 bulk storage tanks across the plant site that range in size from 500 to one million gallons and contain industrial chemicals used for processing or maintenance. Clyde and three co-workers are responsible for:w Unloading chemicals from barges, trucks or railcars into the bulk storage tanks.w Monitoring the storage tanks and

making sure there are no leaks or spills.w Moving chemicals from the bulk tanks to “day tanks” in processing areas. w Cleaning railcars used to transport finished product (plastic pellets) to customers.

“My job requires extreme caution,” says Clyde. “I wear a lot of personal protective equipment to keep safe, and we do a lot of safety training.” One of the most fun parts of his job is driving a Trackmobile® used to pull railcars to the plant’s unloading area.In his spare time, Clyde likes to write and bake sourdough bread from his home-grown Delhi yeast culture. He’s married with two boys, one in medical school and the other a petty officer with the Navy. “They must take after their father,” he says with a chuckle.So, if Clyde isn’t chocking a railcar or checking a containment dike, you’ll find him winding his way to Delhi with his motorcycle boots back on.Clyde Fraley, tank farm technician

What is INEOS ABS?We’ve been known by many names over the years — Addyston Pipe Works, Monsanto, Bayer, LANXESS and Lustran Polymers. In 2009, we officially became INEOS ABS (USA) Corp., owned by the INEOS Group in Rolle, Switzerland.

Formed in 1998, the INEOS Group is the world’s third largest chemical company after BASF and Dow. We are located in Addyston, Ohio be-tween the Ohio River and the stretch

of River Road known as Three Riv-ers Parkway.We manufacture ABS plastics used in a variety of applications, including medical, automotive, spa and home and garden. Our plastics are called ABS after their three main chemical ingredi-ents: A for acrylonitrile, B for 1,3-butadiene and S for styrene. We receive raw materials used in our plastics by barge, rail and truck. We ship out our finished product — small plastic pellets — mainly by truck. We sell our pellets to manufactur-ers who mold them into plastic parts used in products ranging from refrigerators, small appliances and cosmetic packaging to car interiors and medical devices.

INEOS ABS (USA) Corp.356 Three Rivers ParkwayAddyston, OH 45001-0039

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDCINCINNATI, OH

Permit No. 4452

New Air Monitor Shows Good Results (continued from page 1)

Getting the Leaks Out: Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) Program

concerns about 1,3-butadiene emissions from the plant’s flare, an air pollution control device that destroys (burns) pollutants using natural gas. Since then, the plant has fine-tuned the operation of the flare to further reduce butadiene emissions.

“It’s one of the most scrutinized flares in the U.S. and maybe the world,” said Kramer. “Based on the air monitoring data, it’s clear the flare’s destruction efficiency is very high.”The Kibby Lane air monitor takes an air sample every six days over a 24-hour period. The sample is sent to an EPA-approved lab in Minnesota where it is analyzed for the presence of 61 different chemical compounds, including the three main chemicals used at the INEOS plant: butadiene, acrylonitrile and styrene.With the new location, the Southwest Ohio Air Quality agency is now detecting chemicals in the air from INEOS on a more frequent basis; however, the concentrations of the chemicals are not significantly higher than the samples from Hitchens.

“Despite five to six times the number of detections, the average concentrations have not gone up much as compared to the Hitchens results,” said Kramer. “That’s important to note because the monitor is situated to receive the maximum worst-case emissions from the plant.”The Kibby Lane data is continually reviewed by the Ohio EPA, and the agency has not expressed any concerns about the plant and its emissions, especially related to increased cancer risks, according to Kramer. Air monitoring results are posted online at www.southwestohioair.org. For more information, please contact Mike Kramer at mike.kramer@ hamilton-co.org or (513) 946-7727.

Plant’s flare destroys butadiene emissions

Finding leaky equipment and repairing or replacing it is another way the plant helps reduces air pollution. Plant employee Brian Garnett coordi-nates the plant’s Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) program and inspects nearly 35,000 pieces of equipment each year including valves, pumps, agitators and connectors. This includes 17,000 unique pieces of equipment, many of

which are monitored multiple times. Garnett uses a hand-held device (called a TVA 1000) to sniff out the leaks. “Since 2010, the leak rate for plant equipment has been reduced by 98%, according to HES Manager Tim Benter. “And that’s good news because we are held to a higher standard than other industries in terms of frequency of equipment inspections and the allowable

leak rate for a piece of equipment.”In 2013, the plant determined that about 0.37% of all monitored equipment was leaking. An audit by a third party firm found a leak rate of 0.1% (after inspect-ing 2,093 components). The auditors felt the plant results were in strong agreement with their results.“They said we were the second best site they had ever audited,” said Benter.

Clearing the Air in Addyston: