



Contact:
At the Company:                       At the Financial Relations Board:
401-233-0333                          212-661-8030
Philip B. Barr, Jr.                   Analyst Information:  John McNamara
Chief Financial Officer               Media Information:  Alicia Nieva-Woodgate
Investor Relations                    General Information:  Jeff Bogart

At Biosystems, Inc:
860-944-1079
Jack Burt
President and CEO

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 1997


                       BACOU USA ACQUIRES BIOSYSTEMS, INC.
                  Announces Open Market Stock Buyback Program,
                    Repurchase of 554,000 Unregistered Shares

SMITHFIELD,  R.I., October 1, 1997 -- Bacou USA, Inc. (Nasdaq:  BACU), a leading
manufacturer  of  personal  protection  equipment,  announced  today that it has
acquired privately owned Biosystems, Inc., a Middletown,  Connecticut,  maker of
gas monitors and equipment for testing self-contained breathing apparatus.

     Bacou also  announced  today  that it has  purchased  554,400  unregistered
shares,  or about 3% of its common stock in a privately  negotiated  transaction
from a non-affiliated  corporate seller at a purchase price of $14.50 per share,
or a total of  $8,038,800.  The  Company  further  announced  that its  board of
directors has authorized,  effective upon closing of the Biosystems acquisition,
the start of an  open-market  Common  Stock  buyback  program  to  acquire up to
approximately 300,000 Bacou shares in addition to the negotiated transaction.

     The purchase price for Biosystems was approximately  $13.5 million in Bacou
common shares,  or five times the purchased  company's  earnings before interest
and taxes (EBIT),  with an earnout pegged to results through  December 31, 2000.
Additional terms of the  transaction,  which closed September 30, include demand
and  piggyback  registration  rights for the shares  issued to the  sellers,  an
option to receive a portion of any  earnout  amount in cash with the  balance in
Bacou common shares, and a fixed-price put option for 24 months on 70 percent of
the shares issued on the closing date.

     Biosystems estimates that its net sales for its fiscal year ended September
30, 1997,  will be in excess of $16 million.  This compares to $13.7 million and
$12.3 million for the years ending  September  30, 1996 and 1995,  respectively.
Biosystems was founded in 1981 and currently employs 107 people.

     "Biosystems  is a great  addition  to the Bacou  USA  group of  companies,"
Walter  Stepan,  Vice Chairman,  President and CEO of Bacou USA,  said,  "With a
strong   distribution  system  and  reputation  for  quality  and  technological
leadership,  Biosystems has established excellent positions in the gas-detection
marketplace. Its experienced management team will remain with the company and be
instrumental in realizing its full market potential."

     "Our  acquisition  strategy--to  take advantage of a general  consolidation
trend in the market for safety and  security  products--is  developing  nicely,"
Stepan  continued.  "We  have  achieved  a  leadership  position  in the  plano,
prescription  and laser  protective  eyewear  segments  and a  strong,  top-four
position  in the  respirator  segment of  personal  protection  equipment  (PPE)
market. Today's acquisition fits well with our respiratory products business and
advances  us beyond PPE into the  broader  safety and  security  market.  In the
months  ahead,  we  intend to focus on  integrating  acquired  operations  while
looking for our next opportunity to grow by acquisition."

     "Over the past 16 years,  Biosystems has grown from a start-up operation to
a serious contender within its chosen market," said Jack Burt, President and CEO
of Biosystems.  "By joining Bacou USA, we are teaming with a larger organization
that shares our  entrepreneurial  spirit and vision for the future of the safety
and security markets.  Also, with the additional capital and market resources of
Bacou USA at our disposal,  we expect to improve our market  penetration at home
and abroad and shorten the time cycle for  introduction of product  improvements
and new products."

     The total North American market for gas detection  products is estimated by
Biosystems to exceed $270 million in sales annually.  Biosystems  believes it is
one of three leaders in the $90 million confined space gas detection  segment of
this  market  and  estimates  that its share of this  segment,  in which some 12
companies  compete,  is about 15  percent.  Other  market  segments  include the
personal  (single  sensor) gas  detection  segment,  which  Biosystems  believes
amounts to $30 million, the fixed gas detection system segment, which Biosystems
believes  amounts to $150 million,  and the air  purification and airline carbon
monoxide monitoring segment, which amounted to an estimated $15 million in North
American sales.  Biosystems  products  compete on the basis of offering the best
value rather than the lowest price.  Biosystems  positions its products as being
leaders in technology and quality.

     Biosystems'  product in this market are primarily  sold through  industrial
safety  distributors and distributors of fire service  equipment.  Product names
include PhD Plus, PhD Ultra, Cannonball, Toxi, GasChek and Zoneguard. Biosystems
products  are also  sold  under  private  label  directly  to  manufacturers  of
self-contained  breathing  apparatus  and gas  detection  equipment  for  resale
through their sales organizations.  In addition,  they are sold directly to some
large  government  agencies and  departments,  including the U.S. Navy, which in
1996 selected a Biosystems gas detector as its primary instrument for use in all
confined space entry procedures.

     The ease of use of Biosystems  gas-detection  equipment makes it especially
popular with workers in such  industrial  environments  as waste water treatment
plants, refineries, chemical plants, pulp and paper mills, and steel mills. Many
municipal  departments  own large numbers of Biosystems gas detectors for use in
electrical  vaults,  boilers,  sewers and many other types of dangerous confined
spaces. Biosystems' products' sophisticated features such as datalogging and use
with a variety of  different  sensors  makes them  popular as well with a second
category of end  user-industrial  hygienists,  safety  engineers and  regulatory
agency employees.


     Biosystems  PosiChek  products is a computer  controlled test bench used to
evaluate the performance of SCBA and other respiratory  protective  equipment to
ensure that equipment needing maintenance is identified and removed from service
before an  accident  occurs,  not after.  Biosystems  believes  PosiChek to be a
unique, proprietary product with no current direct competition. Biosystems sells
this product to a group of end users that is  substantially  different from that
for the company's gas monitoring  equipment.  PosiChek is sold primarily to fire
fighting  organizations.  Additional  customers include nuclear power generating
stations, hydroelectric dams, chemical plants, refineries and manufacturers that
use self-contained breathing apparatus.


     Under the  buyback  program,  purchases  may be made in the open  market at
prevailing  prices  from time to time at  management's  discretion.  The private
purchase  announced  today,  as well as future  purchases,  will be funded  from
available lines of credit, working capital, or both.


     "We believe that these share repurchases are an important complement to the
Biosystems  transaction for two reasons," said Philip B. Barr,  Executive VP and
CFO for  Bacou  USA.  "First,  we  expect  the  total  number  of  shares  to be
repurchasedwill  approximately  equal the  number of shares  issued at  closing,
thereby  helping  to offset  any  dilution  caused by our  issuance  of stock to
acquire Biosystems, Inc. Second, the repurchases allow us effectively to achieve
an overall  transaction  structure  that is  comparable  to a cash  purchase  of
Biosystems. In our acquisition strategy, we currently have a preference for cash
deals due to our  strong  financial  position  and low  debt.  The  issuance  of
registration  rights to the sellers also enhances the possibility of introducing
additional Bacou USA common shares to the marketplace."


     As of the end of its second  quarter  ended June 30, 1997,  Bacou had total
debt of $4.9 million and 17,312,200 shares outstanding.


     Bacou  USA,  Inc.  designs,  manufactures  and  sells  personal  protective
equipment,  including  non-prescription  safety eyewear, frames for prescription
safety  eyewear,  respirators,  vision  screening  equipment  and  laser  safety
eyewear. The company's products, marketed under Uvex(R), Titmus(R), Survivair(R)
and Pro-Tech(R) brand names, are sold here and abroad  principally to industrial
safety  distributors,  optical  laboratories,  and  distributors of fire service
equipment.

                      To receive additional information on
                         Bacou USA, Inc., via fax, at no
                      charge dial 1-800-PRO-INFO and enter
                                   code BACU.

                                       ###


Statements  contained in this press  release that are not  historical  facts are
forward-looking  statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions
of the Private Securities and Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In addition,  words
such  as  "believes",  "anticipates,"  "expects"  and  similar  expressions  are
intended  to identify  forward-looking  statements.  Forward-looking  statements
involve risks and uncertainties, including the timely development and acceptance
of new products, the impact of competitive products and pricing, changing market
conditions,  the  successful  integration  of  acquisitions  and the other risks
detailed in the company's  prospectus filed March 27, 1996 and from time to time
in other filings.  Actual results may differ  materially  from those  projected.
These forward-looking statements represent the company's judgment as of the date
of this release.  The company  disclaims,  however,  any intent or obligation to
update these forward-looking statements.


