Environmental Incidents

From a minor incident such as the spill of a litre of oil to a full-blown emergency involving a fire of hazardous materials, we continuously strive to prevent incidents from occurring.

MANAGING OUR RISKS

When an environmental incident happens, we act quickly to control and remediate the situation in order to limit any environmental impact and reduce potential damage to company assets. We also ensure we comply with provincial, federal and municipal laws that require reporting and remediation of the incident.

Our Incident Management Program trains employees on their roles and responsibilities in the handling and reporting of environmental incidents and infractions. Following strict procedures, they must promptly report all environmental incidents to our Corporate Responsibility and Environment group which is available 24/7 to respond. The group determines the best plan of action to control and remediate a situation and also reports incidents to appropriate government authorities.

Response kits and instructions for the handling of incidents have been distributed to all work centres, central offices and in vehicles equipped with hydraulic systems.

Finally, incidents are analyzed in order to identify root causes, potential trends, and to develop or adapt preventive measures.

REPORTING INCIDENTS

In 2005, Telesat, a subsidiary of BCE Inc., and Northwestel, a Bell subsidiary, were added to our incident management program

In 2005, 437 environmental incidents, such as ODS (Ozone Depleting Substances) leaks, oil spills or fires were reported by employees or the public. The increase over 2004 results (417 incidents) is mainly attributable to increased reports of spills caused by Bell and by third parties. There were no environmental incidents leading to fines or prosecutions last year.

Comment: The notices of infractions were as a result of delays in reporting ODS leaks to the authorities

2005 Environmental Incidents

The following table provides details of our spills or releases. While the quantities were all relatively small, the appropriate government authorities were advised of all incidents by the Corporate Responsibility and Environment team, and remediation was undertaken when applicable.