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Welcoming Remarks 2004 SHS Annual Meeting - Asilomar we can relax and wait for the results to come rolling in, we appreciate that there is much still to be done. We all know from experience - some of us better than others - that the path to good science isn't always clear and it's almost never quick. We all recognize that this is a multiyear effort and we are committed to seeing it through. To me, the result we get will be worth the wait. I mentioned earlier that 11m the Product Steward for Shell Chemical. My company, along with the other sponsors of this study, believes that the better we understand the potential effects of exposure to benzene, the better equipped we are to put in place controls to minimize risk. As part of our ongoing commitment to product stewardship, we believe that the insights and understanding we will gain from this study will be important to help ensure that we are effectively managing and minimizing risk. The tranquil environment at Asilomar - without the usual distractions and diversions that most of are used to encountering - made for a very productive and informative meeting last year - something that we hope to replicate again over the next two days. 6 SH ELL-MCCLU RG-059630