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Investor Contact: 781-622-1111
Media Contact: 781-622-1252


          THERMO ELECTRON ANNOUNCES PROGRESS ON COMPANY REORGANIZATION

WALTHAM, Mass., March 6, 2000 - One month following its announcement of an
ambitious plan to simplify the company and focus solely on its core measurement
and detection instruments business, Thermo Electron Corporation (NYSE-TMO)
announced today that it has initiated the first steps required to take three of
its subsidiaries private.

     On Friday, the company's Thermo Instrument Systems Inc. (ASE-THI)
subsidiary filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) the materials
necessary to take its Thermo Optek Corporation and ThermoQuest Corporation
businesses private through short-form mergers. The SEC must complete its review
of these materials before the mergers can be finalized. Thermo Electron expects
these mergers to be completed in the second quarter of 2000.

     In addition, the company announced that its Thermedics Inc. (ASE-TMD)
subsidiary has commenced its previously announced cash tender offer of $15.50
per share for any and all outstanding shares of its Thermo Sentron Inc.
business. The offer and withdrawal rights will expire at midnight on Thursday,
March 30, 2000, unless the offer is extended.

     The goal of the tender offer is to bring Thermedics' and Thermo Electron's
combined equity ownership in Thermo Sentron to at least 90 percent. If
Thermedics and Thermo Electron achieve this 90-percent-ownership level, Thermo
Sentron would then be spun into Thermedics through a "short-form" merger at the
same cash price as the tender offer. Thermedics expects to complete the spin-in
of Thermo Sentron in the second quarter of 2000. The tender offer for Thermo
Sentron and proposed subsequent short-form merger require SEC clearance of
necessary filings. The short-form merger would not require Thermo Sentron board
or shareholder approval.

     Thermo Electron is pursuing an aggressive timetable to complete its
reorganization plan and expects to commence tender offers for Metrika Systems,
ONIX Systems, Thermo BioAnalysis, and Thermedics Detection over the next two
weeks.

     Thermo Electron Corporation is a leading provider of analytical and
monitoring instruments used in a broad range of applications, from life sciences
research to telecommunications to food and beverage production. In addition,
Thermo Electron serves the healthcare market through a family of medical
products, and is a major producer of paper recycling systems and provides
water-clarification and fiber-recovery products and services. As announced on
January 31, 2000, the company has initiated a major reorganization that would
transform it into one publicly traded entity focused on its core measurement and
detection instruments business. The company's medical products and paper
recycling businesses will be spun off as dividends to Thermo Electron
shareholders. More information is available on the Internet at
http://www.thermo.com.

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
     The tender offers described in this announcement for the outstanding shares
of Thermedics Detection, Metrika Systems, ONIX Systems and Thermo BioAnalysis
common stock have not yet commenced. As soon as the tender offers commence, we
will file tender offer statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
You should read the tender offer statements when they become available because
they will contain important information about


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the tender offers. You can obtain the tender offer statements and other
documents that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for free on
the Securities and Exchange Commission's web site at http://www.sec.gov. If you
write us or call us, we will send you these documents for free when they are
available:
     * Tender Offer Statements (except for exhibits)
     * Offers to Purchase
     * Letters of Transmittal
     * Notices of Guaranteed Delivery

You can call us at (781) 622-1111 or write to us at:

     Investor Relations Department
     Thermo Electron Corporation
     81 Wyman Street, P.O. Box 9046
     Waltham, MA 02454-9046

The following constitutes a "Safe Harbor" statement under the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains forward-looking
statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Important factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by
such forward-looking statements are set forth under the heading "Forward-looking
Statements" in Exhibit 13 to the company's annual report on Form 10-K, for the
year ended January 2, 1999. These include risks and uncertainties relating to:
the company's spinout and acquisition strategies, competition, international
operations, technological change, possible changes in governmental regulations,
capital spending and government funding policies, and dependence on intellectual
property rights.


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