(Archived) Praxair Rejects Property Offered by City of St. Louis (December 21, 2005)

DANBURY, Conn., December 21, 2005 — Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) today rejected the property offered by the City of St. Louis as a possible alternative site for Praxair Distribution's industrial and medical gases distribution facility.

On December 7, Praxair received a letter from the Office of the Mayor offering a site in Hazelwood near Lambert International Airport.

"Praxair's review of this site shows that this property and land surrounding it is contaminated with various materials related to the Manhattan Project and is on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Priority list for clean-up," said Wayne Yakich, president of Praxair Distribution.

"Praxair is not interested in building a new facility on a floodplain within a Superfund site where, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has indicated, there may be risks of radiological exposure," Yakich said.

Yakich said that Praxair was continuing to evaluate other alternative sites to its fire-damaged Chouteau Avenue facility.

Praxair is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America, and one of the largest worldwide, with 2004 sales of $6.6 billion. The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric, process and specialty gases, and high-performance surface aerospace, chemicals, electronics, energy, food and beverage, healthcare, manufacturing, coatings. Praxair is a recognized leader in the commercialization of new technologies that bring productivity and environmental benefits to a diverse group of industries, including metals and others. More information on Praxair is available on the Internet at www.praxair.com.