Air Liquide America Brings 'Big Chill' to New Bay Bridge's Big Pour; Liquid Nitrogen Chills Concrete to Optimum Pouring Temperature for New Bridge Footings.

Business Editors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 15, 2004

When the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opens in 2009, the 2.18-mile span will rest on a foundation of steel and reinforced concrete chilled with Air Liquide America's liquid nitrogen.

During the first major pour of the $2.6 billion (U.S.) project, Air Liquide America liquid nitrogen produced at our North California air separation unit was used to bring the concrete to the optimum temperature for pouring at the West 2 foundation construction site on Yerba Buena Island. The foundation is part of the Yerba Buena Transition Structure, one of five major structures being built to support the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge.

The 40-hour pour utilized some 550 loads of concrete and 60,000 gallons of liquid nitrogen, which was injected into individual concrete loads at Air Liquide America's injection staging area under the Bay Bridge in the middle of San Francisco Bay. The foundation site, one of two on Yerba Buena Island, covers an area 64 feet long, 64 feet wide and 80 feet deep.

The injection staging area allowed each shipment of concrete "to be individually checked to assure that the concrete was delivered at the optimum pouring temperature to meet construction standards - so the concrete will not pull away from the rock at the bottom of the bay," said Dan Miller, site manager for Air Liquide America.

The injection staging area features five stations. Concrete trucks arrive loaded with nine cubic yards of concrete mud (1 cubic yard of concrete covers an area equal to 9 bags of garden mulch). After stopping in the injection area, an injector is automatically inserted into the concrete drum and approximately 27 gallons per minute of industrial-grade liquid nitrogen is injected for every degree in temperature drop desired.

"For example, to lower a load of concrete by four degrees, it would take a four-minute injection of 108 gallons to prepare the concrete for the pour," said Michael Jessen, who joined Miller as on-site shift leader for Air Liquide America. "Timing is important, as a load of concrete is expected on-site every 2.2 minutes during the pour."

Pascal Vinet, senior vice president for Air Liquide America's Industrial Customers business unit, said the project is just the latest in a long line of Bay Area successes for the company, which was initially headquartered in Walnut Creek (Calif.) in 1968. "Air Liquide America is very pleased to play a part in building the largest and most visible and challenging public works project Northern California has seen in decades. When the new bridge opens, it will serve a multitude of travelers, in vehicles, on bicycles or on foot, and will add a new spectacular signature to the area's skyline. It is exciting to be involved at the very foundation of such a project."

Bill Devers, site manager for West Bay Builders, was extremely pleased with Air Liquide America's operational performance. "Air Liquide America's team has been outstanding," Devers said while monitoring the pour and injection operations on-site. It's nothing new to West Bay Builders President Paul Thompson, who has known Air Liquide America for some time. "When we began discussing this project, Air Liquide America was the obvious choice," Thompson said.

About Air Liquide

Present in 65 countries, Air Liquide is the world leader in industrial and medical gases and related services. The Group offers innovative solutions based on constantly enhanced technologies. These solutions help to protect life and enable our customers to manufacture many indispensable everyday products. Founded in 1902, Air Liquide has 30,800 employees. The Group has successfully developed a long-term relationship with its shareholders built on confidence and transparency and guided by the principles of corporate governance. Since the publication of its first consolidated financial statements in 1971, Air Liquide has posted strong and steady earnings growth. Sales in 2002 totaled 7,900 million euros, with sales outside France accounting for 76%. Air Liquide is listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange and is a component of the CAC 40 and Eurostoxx 50 indexes - Euroclear code 12 007.