3E Company Acquires Ariel Research.

CARLSBAD, Calif. & KINGSPORT, Tenn. -- 3E Company(R), a leading provider of Environmental, Health and Safety (EH&S) information and compliance management solutions, announced today that it has acquired Ariel Research Corporation, a leading provider of research and regulatory data, information systems and services for regulatory compliance, from Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE: EMN). The result of this acquisition is a high value added service company with a strong presence throughout the chemical life cycle, from manufacture through transport and distribution, usage and ultimate waste disposal. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

"The acquisition of Ariel by 3E, two companies with consistent missions, enables 3E to offer a combination of outstanding compliance management services with vastly strengthened data and content that will enable companies to optimize regulatory compliance practices, reduce operational costs, increase efficiencies and better manage and mitigate corporate risk," said Robert Christie, president and CEO of 3E Company. "Ariel has been a highly trusted source in the area of global chemical regulatory compliance, with unique experience across information technology, regulatory data services and EH&S processes. 3E can now fully leverage its own business rules, best practices and industry leading Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) database with the addition of Ariel's regulatory content and compliance tools to deliver world-class information and compliance services."

"Eastman is pleased to complete this transaction, which supports the strategy of narrowing our focus to align more closely with the company's core capabilities," said Dr. Greg O. Nelson, Eastman's senior vice president for developing businesses and chief technology officer. "We look forward to maintaining our global MSDS outsourcing relationship with 3E and to exploring future opportunities to benefit from the powerful combination of the 3E and Ariel offerings."

The completion of the acquisition by 3E marks a significant global expansion for the EH&S company. Ariel's regulatory database covers international chemical regulatory requirements in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Its European office in Copenhagen will become 3E's first direct presence abroad.

About 3E Company

3E Company is the first company to provide a comprehensive BPO-based solution for environmental, health and safety information and compliance management, specializing in the area of hazardous materials. 3E has the industry leading combination of a 24-7-365 hazmat mission control call center, and an online platform for hazmat information management, all built on a foundation of the world's premier hazardous materials database of regulatory and compliance information. 3E's services enable Fortune 1000 organizations to outsource EH&S compliance functions, alleviating the pain, increasing the efficiency and enhancing staff productivity associated with managing this critical information. Today over 7,000 customers have partnered with 3E including AT&T, Costco Wholesale Corporation, America West, Temple-Inland, L.L. Bean, Menasha, PacifiCorp and Truserv. 3E was founded in 1988 and has 175 employees nationwide. 3E Company is the recipient of the 2002 and 2003 Commitment to Worker Safety Award in Online Services from Compliance Magazine. The privately held company is headquartered in Carlsbad, CA. For more information on 3E Company, visit www.3ecompany.com, send e-mail to [e-mail] or call 800-360-3220.

About Ariel Research Corporation

Founded in 1989, Ariel is a leading provider of quality research data and services for global environmental, health and safety management. Ariel's team of chemical compliance experts works with more than 300 complex global enterprises to mitigate their EHS risk by delivering the highest quality regulatory data and comprehensive services.

About Eastman Chemical Company

Headquartered in Kingsport, Tenn., Eastman manufactures and markets plastics, fibers and chemicals. The company has approximately 12,000 employees and had 2003 sales of $5.8 billion. For more information about Eastman, visit www.eastman.com.