VALENCIA, Calif., November 14, 2002 Across the United States - where termites cause up to $3 billion in property damage each year - a growing number of builders, architects, building code experts and homebuyers are specifying a safe, sustainable solution guaranteed to last 20 years; four times longer than traditional termite barriers. The solution is produced by industrially pre-treating wood building products with borates, naturally occurring mineral salts that are safe for people and the environment, but deadly for termites and decay.

While more than 30,000 homes have been built with borate-treated building materials since 1992, the solution's effectiveness has now been recognized by the International Code Council (ICC) - the country's most authoritative model code - with the acceptance of AWPA standard C31 into the International Residential Code (IRC) and the International Building Code (IBC), new versions of which will be published by February 2003.

Borate-treated building materials are sold under the SmartGUARDTM product lines through a strategic alliance between U.S. Borax Inc., the world's leading borate producer; Osmose, a world leader in wood preservation technology; and LP Corporation, the world's largest producer of oriented strand board (OSB).

Michael McDonough, an award-winning architect and industrial designer, recently designed and is constructing e-House (www.e-house.us), the first high-performance Internet-based house of the 21st century, using SmartGUARD products. "My goal is to integrate the most advanced products and technologies in order to point the way to the future of building," said McDonough. "SmartGUARD represents a safe, sustainable approach to solving the problems of termites, other insects, and decay."

Recognition of borate treatment's effectiveness is also evidenced by the growth in the number of U.S. plants that now pressure treat wood with borates. Currently, 12 plants in the continental U.S. treat lumber with borates, compared with six in 2001. Four new plants came on board during the second half of this year alone.

Although termites thrive in every state but Alaska, they are particularly damaging to residential and commercial buildings along the Sunbelt. Many builders in the United States rely solely on traditional soil treatments - chemical barriers placed at the foot of the house - to protect homes against termites. These soil treatments typically last only five to seven years and do not protect homes against either termite species that nest above ground, or wood decay fungi that thrive when moisture collects in exterior walls.

SmartGUARD products include studs, plywood, joists, rafters and panels pressure-treated with borates. Borates prevent fungal decay and are deadly to carpenter ants, roaches, and termites. Borates interfere with wood destroying organisms' metabolic pathways, effectively killing them. The built-in protection of SmartGUARD products is even effective on one of the world's most destructive species of termites, the subterranean Formosan termite.

Borates have been used successfully for decades in Europe and New Zealand. Hawaii, home to some of the highest termite activity in the world, has mandated the use of treated wood for more than 15 years. Ten years after its introduction in Hawaii, borate-treated wood is being used to build more that 85 percent of all wood framed homes on the islands.

SmartGUARD products are also gaining acceptance in Florida, where 150,000 new homes are built each year; and Louisiana, where borate treated materials were recently chosen for two major public-private housing developments that will create more than 1,000 protected homes.

SmartGUARD products are as affordable as they are effective. On average, using borate-treated products adds two percent to the construction cost of a home. For a 2,000 square foot home, that translates to between $3,000 and $4,000. This one-time expense is far lower than the amount homeowners often spend repairing damage caused by termites or applying less permanent treatment systems.

About Borax
Borax supplies nearly half the global demand for refined borates - essential micronutrients for plants, part of a healthy human diet, and key ingredients in glass, fiberglass, ceramics, detergents, personal care products, fertilizers and wood preservatives. www.borax.com.

About LP
LP is a premier supplier of building materials, delivering innovative, high-quality commodity and specialty products to its rapidly growing retail, wholesale, homebuilding and industrial customer base. www.lpcorp.com.

About Osmose
Osmose is an international leader in wood preservation and wood maintenance technologies. While Osmose's core business is improving the performance of wood, the company also develops proprietary repair and maintenance technologies for concrete and steel. www.osmose.com/wood/usa/preserved/smartguard/.