Annual Safety Awards Presented at American Air Liquide.

HOUSTON -- At Air Liquide, safety is and always will be our number one priority.

Safety is a fundamental expectation for all our employees. Safety is also the essential building block upon which to create reliability and quality. Only when operations are safe can they become more and more reliable, and only when operations are reliable can we aim for higher and higher quality standards. For all these reasons, safety is critically important to the life and success of the company and its customers.

In line with this commitment, American Air Liquide Holdings, Inc. presents annual recognition awards for exceptional safety achievements. This year's ceremony was held recently at the company's annual senior management team meeting in Houston.

American Air Liquide's 2005 President's Safety Awards honored four teams for their outstanding commitment to safety. They are:

--Washington, IN, CO2 Production & Distribution Facility - Bill Haywood, manager

--Salt Lake City, Utah, Cylinder Fill Plant -Tim Dall, manager

--Coatesville, PA, Air Separation Unit - Ali Vaghari, manager

--Eugene, OR, Total Gas & Chemical Management Operation - Dennis Town, manager

Driver Safety was also highlighted with recognition bestowed upon four drivers with more than 2 million miles without a preventable vehicle accident -- one of whom has surpassed 3 million safely driven miles. They are:

--Randall Pope, Provo, Utah - 3 million safe miles

--James Gray, Fairfield, Ala. - 2 million safe miles

--Dennis Dick, Longview, Texas - 2 million safe miles

--Mike Floyd, Longview, Texas - 2 million safe miles

Said B.K. Chin, president and COO of subsidiary Air Liquide USA LLC, "The commitment to operate safely and reliably is a responsibility that is essential to the success of our company and customers. This commitment is shared by all Air Liquide teams locally, nationally and around the world. The President's Safety Awards program recognizes outstanding examples of this commitment."

President's Safety Award nominees must meet eligibility requirements and criteria including no recordable injuries, no preventable vehicle accidents and no environmental fines in the past three years or 100,000 man-hours. Other criteria for the award are clear documentation and accountability for health, safety and environmental responsibilities (HSE); community outreach activities; site-specific programs to demonstrate HSE best practices; and the implementation of best practices developed at other Air Liquide facilities.

While maintaining optimal safety and reliability in the operation of thousands of assets located in hundreds of locations is challenging, it can be achieved with the right focus and discipline. To meet this challenge, Air Liquide Group has committed to control and improve key processes impacting safety, reliability and quality and to develop its employees to their fullest potential through integrated training and the adoption of best practices. As a result of these efforts, Air Liquide's safety record is among the best in its industry.

American Air Liquide Holdings, Inc. is the parent company for Air Liquide's North American entities. It is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Through its subsidiary businesses, American Air Liquide offers industrial gases and related services to a variety of customers including those in large industry, industrial manufacturing, electronics, specialty and healthcare marketplaces.

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Present in more than 70 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, which are in line with Air Liquide's commitment to sustainable development, help to protect life and enable our customers to manufacture many indispensable everyday products. Founded in 1902, Air Liquide has nearly 36,000 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 2004 totaled 9,376 million euros, of which sales outside France accounted almost 80%. Air Liquide is listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange and is a component of the CAC 40 and EuroStoxx 50 indices (ISIN code FR 0000120073).