September 29 , 2009

The Honorable Henry Waxman, Chairman U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Joe Barton, Ranking Member U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Bobby L. Rush, Chairman U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade

and Consumer Protection Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable George Radanovich, Ranking

Member U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade

and Consumer Protection Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairmen and Ranking Members:

We are writing to express our opposition to H.R. 2190, a bill introduced by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D

- IL)

, which we understand will be marked up by the House En ergy and Commerce Committee tomorrow,
Wednesday, September 30, 2009. H.R. 2190 will require any chlor alkali plant using mercury cell
technology to cease production and shut down within two years of the bill’s passage into law. This
legislation would result in the closure of four chlor alkali plants in Georgia, Ohio, West Virginia

, and

Tennessee. If passed as written, H.R. 2190 will force potentially more than 1,000 manufacturin g workers out of a job, costing the communities in which these plants operate millions of dollars in annual
economic impact.

The industry is willing to commit to transitioning to non

- mercury technology. However, two years is
simply not enough time. Give n the current nation

- wide financial crisis, now is not the time to enact
policies that will put hard

- working Americans with good jobs and good futures out of work. The current

two

- year mandate specified in H.R. 2190 will have a devastating impact on our already fragile economy
at a time when unemployment numbers have reached reco rd highs and continue to climb.

According to a recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in our
country’s manufacturing sector more than doubled fr om 5.7 percent in August 2008 to 11.8 percent in
August 2009. To put that in perspective, the number of unemployed manufacturing workers rose fromSeptember 29, 2009

Page 2

960,000 to more than 1.86 million. These key indicators suggest that the road to recovery for these 1.86

mi llion families in financial distress is a long way off.

The companies we represent have a substantial, positive impact on each of the communities we touch.

In addition to the more than 1,000 manufacturing workers we support and the families that depend o n them, we contribute millions of dollars in economic impact, supplying high

- quality products that help
keep other companies and their employees in business. Equally important, we consistently operate in
compliance with all state and federal regulations d esigned to protect public health and the environment.
Thanks to advanced technologies and sensible policies, the chlor alkali industry has reduce d its use of
mercury by over 97 % in the last 10 years and mercury emissions more than 75% since 2003.

While b uilding on these environmental achievements is important, Congress shouldn’t lose sight of
protecting the good American jobs we currently have. On behalf of th e more than 1,000 manufacturing
workers we represent, their families

, and the communities in whi ch we operate, we urge you to oppose

H.R. 2190 as currently written. Two years is simply not enough time. In fact, any timeline that requires

conversion to a non

- mercury technology before December 31, 2018 will result in the loss of hundreds of
quality j obs.

Thank you for your consideration. We will be happy to visit with you further about our concerns as the
House Energy and Commerce Committee considers this important issue.

Regards,

Bradley J. Westfall
President
ASHTA Chemicals John McIntosh

Pre sident, Olin Chlor Alkali Products & Vice President, Olin Corporation

Michael H. McGarry Senior Vice President, Commodity Chemicals PPG Industries, Inc.

cc: House Energy and Commerce Committee Members