                                                               EXHIBIT 31.1
                               CERTIFICATION

Statement Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 by
Chief Executive Officer Regarding Facts and Circumstances Relating to
Exchange Act Filings.

I, James J. O'Brien, Chief Executive Officer of Ashland Inc., certify that:

1.    I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of Ashland Inc.;
2.    Based on my  knowledge,  this  report  does not  contain  any  untrue
      statement  of a  material  fact  or omit to  state  a  material  fact
      necessary to make the statements made, in light of the  circumstances
      under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to
      the period covered by this report;
3.    Based on my knowledge, the financial statements,  and other financial
      information  included in this report,  fairly present in all material
      respects the  financial  condition,  results of  operations  and cash
      flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this
      report;
4.    The registrant's other certifying  officers and I are responsible for
      establishing and maintaining  disclosure  controls and procedures (as
      defined  in  Exchange  Act  Rules  13a-15(e)  and  15d-15(e)  for the
      registrant and have:
      a)   Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
           disclosure  controls  and  procedures  to be designed  under our
           supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the
           registrant,  including its  consolidated  subsidiaries,  is made
           known to us by others within those entities, particularly during
           the period in which this report is being prepared;
      b)   Evaluated  the  effectiveness  of  the  registrant's  disclosure
           controls  and  procedures  and  presented  in  this  report  our
           conclusions about the  effectiveness of the disclosure  controls
           and  procedures,  as of the end of the  period  covered  by this
           report based on such evaluation; and
      c)   Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal
           control  over  financial  reporting  that  occurred  during  the
           registrant's most recent fiscal quarter that occurred during the
           registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth
           fiscal  quarter  in the  case  of an  annual  report)  that  has
           materially  affected,  or is  reasonably  likely  to  materially
           affect,   the  registrant's   internal  control  over  financial
           reporting; and
5.    The  registrant's  other  certifying  officers and I have  disclosed,
      based  on  our  most  recent  evaluation  of  internal  control  over
      financial  reporting,  to the  registrant's  auditors  and the  audit
      committee of registrant's  board of directors (or persons  performing
      the equivalent functions):
      a)   All  significant  deficiencies  and material  weaknesses  in the
           design or operation of internal control over financial reporting
           which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's
           ability  to record,  process,  summarize  and  report  financial
           information; and
      b)   Any fraud, whether or not material,  that involves management or
           other employees who have a significant  role in the registrant's
           internal control over financial reporting.

     Date:  December 14, 2004

                                 /s/ James J. O'Brien
                                ----------------------------------------
                                Chief Executive Officer


