Frank Popoff, a chief executive and chairman who tried to make Dow Chemical more conciliatory toward regulators and environmentalists in the late 1980s and ’90s, and who prodded the chemical industry to adopt safer practices, died on Feb. 25 at his home in Midland, Mich., where Dow is based. A spokesman for the company said the cause was cancer. “I think we have a fair amount of work to do in terms of the way we are viewed,” Mr. Popoff told The New York Times in 1987, shortly before succeeding Paul F. Oreffice as chief executive. “We know we’ll never change Ralph Nader’s mind. But Dow is at peace with itself, and we want our people to feel good about the company, too.”

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Persons: Frank Popoff, Dow, Popoff, Orange, “ Dow, Mr, Paul F, Oreffice, “, Ralph Nader’s, ” Organizations: Dow, U.S, Environmental Protection Agency, New York Times Locations: Midland, Mich, Bulgarian, Vietnam