Bennett Environmental Q3 Update.

OAKVILLE, Ontario -- Bennett Environmental Inc. (AMEX:BEL)(TSX:BEV):

- 20,000 tonnes of soil processed

- One-time re-structuring charge to earnings in Q3

- Addition to management team

- New Jersey Federal Creosote update

Bennett Environmental today provided the following operational and financial update for investors:

Operations

The Company's facility located in Saint Ambroise, Quebec operated at about 80% of capacity in the third quarter and processed approximately 20,000 tons of soil. At the end of the quarter, storage was about 8,000 tons.

The plant in Belledune, New Brunswick is substantially complete and has entered the commissioning phase. Bennett plans to complete compliance testing in the fourth quarter. Operations will commence when there is a sufficient flow of material to permit a viable operation.

Financial Results and Reporting

Bennett will announce its third quarter and nine month financial results on November 2nd, 2004. The Company intends, following a detailed financial review completed in the quarter, to take a one-time administrative restructuring charge to earnings in the quarter of approximately $10 million. The restructuring charge is primarily non-cash write-offs relating to deferred permitting costs and redundant capital assets.

This one-time restructuring charge is expected to result in a net loss for the quarter and for the full year.

Management

Effective October 25th, Michael McSweeney will join Bennett as Vice President, Government Relations and Environmental Affairs. Mr. McSweeney has an MBA degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and a Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard University, has over 20 years of experience in public affairs. Over the course of his career, Mr. McSweeney served the Prime Minister of Canada in 1983 and 1984 as well as several other Cabinet Ministers. From 1992 to 1998, Mr. McSweeney was the CEO of the Standards Council of Canada where he led the launch of the ISO 14000 series of standards in Canada. He joins Bennett from AE Holden and Associates, a corporate Management Consulting firm, focused in the agri-food industry, where he was Vice President Business Development.

New Jersey Federal Creosote Project

Bennett executives continue discussions with New Jersey Federal Creosote project officials with respect to a definitive site design plan for Operable Unit 3. The design will determine the volume of soil for treatment. A definitive design was expected in the third quarter but now officials anticipate that the site plan will be completed during the fourth quarter of 2004. There is no assurance that the design will be completed in the fourth quarter.

In August, a Special Committee of Independent Directors was formed to oversee the Company's review of the New Jersey Federal Creosote (FC) project. While the Committee anticipates that its work will not be completed until November, the Company has already, among other things, restructured its operations and adopted an enhanced Code of Business Conduct for dealing with US Government-related procurement activities.

Comment

"While much remains to be accomplished, I am very encouraged by the progress Bennett has made in the third quarter," said Al Bulckaert, President and CEO. "We have added depth and expertise to the management team which is supported by a strong and independent board, we have increased our sales presence in the all-important US market, and we've completed the construction of the Belledune plant to accommodate future growth."

"Bennett's high temperature thermal process solution and strong customer relationships have positioned the Company to be a leader in the rapidly growing environmental remediation marketplace in the coming years." concluded Mr. Bulckaert.

Bennett Environmental is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (Trading Symbol "BEV") and the American Stock Exchange (Trading Symbol "BEL").

Notes regarding forward-looking information

This news release includes statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. For those statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbour for forward-looking statements provisions contained in the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company cautions that actual performance will be affected by a number of various factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Discussions of the various factors that may affect future results are contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Ontario Securities Commission.

Conference call notification - Bennett will release its third quarter and nine month results on November 2nd, 2004 and hold a conference call and web-cast at 2:00 pm (ET) on the same day. Details of the conference call and web-cast will be sent out on October 26th, 2004.