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Translation of the original German language statement on

the accidentat the Bayer U.S. site in Institute, West Virginia

given by Bayer GroupChairman Werner Wenning at the public Annual StockholdersMeeting, May 12, 2009

Ladies and gentlemen,A further countermotion has to do with an accident that occurred in Augustof last year at our U.S. site in Institute, West Virginia.Tragically, two of our employees lost their lives as a result.A vessel for the treatment of residues from the manufacture of the startingproduct methomyl exploded and subsequently burned out.Our site fire department brought the fire under control and extinguished ittogether with local fire departments.Air measurements at the site perimeter showed no evidence of an elevatedconcentration of hazardous substances in the environment.Therefore the population or the environment were not at risk.Our investigations have identified a number of factors that contributed tothis incident.Accordingly, we have already introduced changes and implementedmeasures designed to prevent such an accident from occurring again.We are working closely with the authorities – who have also launched theirown investigations – and will continue to do so in the future.All the necessary information related to the accident has been provided.An attempt is clearly being made to use this tragic accident as anopportunity to draw comparisons with the accident in Bhopal and focuspublic interest on the chemical methyl isocyanate, or MIC.Any comparison between our modern facility and the one in Bhopal nearly30 years ago is completely absurd.The fact is that the MIC tank in Institute was not affected by the explosionor the subsequent fire, nor was it damaged in any way.All the safety apparatus designed to protect the tank functioned perfectly,and there was no cause for concern in this respect at any time.The production of our crop protection products in Institute takes place usingthe latest safety technology.All the plants are subject to constant monitoring, both by our own expertsand by the responsible U.S. authorities.