Packaging and Transport of Nuclear Substances Regulations, 2015 (SOR/2015-145)

Application

Marginal note:Application

• 2 (1) Subject to subsection (2), these Regulations apply to the packaging and transport of

  • (a) prescribed equipment; and

  • (b) nuclear substances, including

    • (i) the design, production, use, inspection, maintenance and repair of packaging and packages for nuclear substances, and

    • (ii) the preparation, consigning, handling, loading, carriage, storage during transport, receipt at final destination and unloading of packages and unpacking of their contents.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) These Regulations, except for sections 6 and 7, do not apply to the packaging and transport of a nuclear substance

  • (a) that is naturally occurring, provided that it has

    • (i) a specific activity that is less than or equal to 70 kBq/kg, or

    • (ii) an activity concentration that does not exceed 10 times the activity concentration limit for exempt material values set out in the IAEA Regulations;

  • (b) that was implanted in or administered to a person or an animal for medical diagnosis or treatment purposes, or that subsists in their remains;

  • (c) that is contained in a sample of material taken for bioassay purposes;

  • (d) that is used by a holder of a licence on private property for the purpose of an activity described in paragraphs 26(a) to (c) of the Act that the licence authorizes the holder to carry on, if access to the property is controlled;

  • (e) that is contained in human or animal tissue samples or animal remains, or a liquid scintillation medium, if the specific activity of the nuclear substance averaged over the mass of the material does not exceed 10^-6 A₂/kg;

  • (f) that is contained in a product for which no licence is required under sections 6 to 8 of the Nuclear Substances and Radiation Devices Regulations following the sale of the product to an end user;

  • (g) that is an integral part of a conveyance and is required for transport purposes;

  • (h) that has an activity concentration that does not exceed the values for an exempt material set out in the IAEA Regulations or in a certificate for a basic radionuclide value that is not listed in the IAEA Regulations;

  • (i) that is in a consignment that has a total activity that does not exceed the values for an activity limit for an exempt consignment set out in the IAEA Regulations, in a certificate for a basic radionuclide value that is not listed in the IAEA Regulations or in a certificate for an instrument or article that has an alternative activity limit for an exempt consignment;

  • (j) that is contained in a check source for which no licence is required under section 8.1 of the Nuclear Substances and Radiation Devices Regulations following the sale of the check source to an end user;

  • (k) that is contained in a radiation device for which no licence is required under paragraph 5(1)(c) of the Nuclear Substances and Radiation Devices Regulations following the sale of the device to an end user;

  • (l) that consists of non-radioactive solid objects with radioactive material present on any surface in quantities not exceeding 0.4 Bq/cm² for beta and gamma emitters and low toxicity alpha emitters and 0.04 Bq/cm² for all other alpha emitters;

  • (m) that is in or on a person who is transported for medical treatment because the person has been subject to an accidental or deliberate intake or contamination;

  • (n) that is present in a load of waste that is in transport, is not classified as radioactive material and has triggered a radiation monitor alarm if the nuclear substance in the load has been determined only to be one or more of the following medical isotopes and if there is no loss or dispersal of the material during the transport:

    • (i) Chromium 51,

    • (ii) Indium 111,

    • (iii) Iodine 123, 124 or 131,

    • (iv) Gallium 67,

    • (v) Technetium 99m,

    • (vi) Thallium 201;

  • (o) that is being transported to a location for proper characterization in accordance with section 3, if

    • (i) it is present in a load that was already in transport,

    • (ii) it is not classified as radioactive material,

    • (iii) it has triggered a radiation monitor alarm and the maximum dose rate on any external surface of the vehicle that is transporting it is less than or equal to 500 µSv/h, and

    • (iv) there is no loss or dispersal of the material during the transport; or

  • (p) that is being transported by a peace officer to a location for proper characterization, if

    • (i) it is a forensic sample,

    • (ii) the peace officer has reason to believe that it is radioactive material,

    • (iii) the maximum dose rate on contact is less than or equal to 2 mSv/h on any external surface of the container,

    • (iv) there is no loss or dispersal of the material during the transport, and

    • (v) the Commission is advised immediately of the transport.

Marginal note:Characterization

• 3 (1) The nuclear substance referred to in paragraph 2(2)(o) must be characterized at the earliest possible time to determine the extent to which it is subject to these Regulations and the Nuclear Substances and Radiation Devices Regulations.

• Marginal note:Licensable quantity

  (2) For the purpose of this section, a licensable quantity of a nuclear substance is a quantity

  • (a) in respect of which the activity exceeds the exemption quantity, as defined in section 1 of the Nuclear Substances and Radiation Devices Regulations; or

  • (b) in respect of which there is no exemption from licensing under sections 5 to 8.1 of those Regulations.

• Marginal note:Documentation of characterization

  (3) The person who performs the characterization must

  • (a) keep a record documenting the detection of the radiation and the disposal of the nuclear substance for two years;

  • (b) file an annual report with the Commission by April 30 that contains a summary of radiation detections for the calendar year before the date of the report; and

  • (c) immediately notify the Commission if the source of the radioactivity in the load is determined to be a licensable quantity of a nuclear substance.

• Marginal note:Dose rate greater than 5 µSv/h and less than or equal to 25 µSv/h

  (4) If the measured dose rate at the time that the alarm is triggered is greater than 5 µSv/h and less than or equal to 25 µSv/h and there is no loss or dispersal of the nuclear substance during the transport, the consignor, the carrier and the consignee must

  • (a) immediately make a preliminary report to the Commission indicating the alarm level, the details of the transport, information on the location and circumstances of the detected radiation and any action that they have taken or propose to take in respect of it; and

  • (b) characterize the source of the radiation within 10 days after its detection and make a follow-up report

    • (i) immediately, if the characterization of the source of the radioactivity in the load indicates that it is a licensable quantity of a nuclear substance, or

    • (ii) within 21 days after the initial detection, if the nuclear substance in the load is determined not to be of a licensable quantity, with a summary of the radiation detection and the disposal of the substance and a confirmation that it is not of a licensable quantity.

• Marginal note:Dose rate greater than 25 µSv/h and less than or equal to 500 µSv/h

  (5) If the measured dose rate at the time that the alarm is triggered is greater than 25 µSv/h but less than or equal to 500 µSv/h and there is no loss or dispersal of the nuclear substance during the transport, the consignor, carrier and consignee must

  • (a) immediately make a preliminary report to the Commission indicating the alarm level, the details of the transport, information on the location and circumstances of the detected radiation and any action that they have taken or propose to take in respect of it;

  • (b) isolate the load, prevent dispersal of the nuclear substance and control access to it to ensure that persons are not exposed to effective doses that exceed the limits set out in section 13 of the Radiation Protection Regulations;

  • (c) have an expert in radiation protection assess the situation; and

  • (d) report the results of the assessment to the Commission within 10 days after the detection and make a follow-up report

    • (i) immediately, if the characterization of the source of the radioactivity in the load indicates that it is a licensable quantity of a nuclear substance, or

    • (ii) within 21 days after the initial detection, if the nuclear substance in the load is determined not to be of a licensable quantity, with a summary of the radiation detection and the disposal of the substance and a confirmation that it is not of a licensable quantity.

Classification of Material and Packages

Marginal note:General classification

4 Subject to section 5, packages and radioactive material must be classified in accordance with the IAEA Regulations.

Marginal note:LSA-I material

• 5 (1) LSA material is classified as LSA-I material if it is either non-fissile material or fissile-excepted radioactive material and if it consists of

  • (a) ores that contain naturally occurring radionuclides with a uranium and thorium concentration not greater than 3% by mass;

  • (b) radioactive material for which the A₂ value is unlimited, except for ores that contain naturally occurring radionuclides with a uranium and thorium concentration greater than 3% by mass;

  • (c) concentrates of unirradiated thorium, of natural uranium or of depleted uranium, as those terms are defined in the IAEA Regulations, or their unirradiated compounds or mixtures in solid or liquid form;

  • (d) any mill tailings, contaminated earth, concrete, rubble, other debris and activated materials in which the radioactive material is essentially uniformly distributed and for which the average specific activity does not exceed 10^-6 A₂/g; or

  • (e) other radioactive material in which the activity is distributed throughout and for which the estimated average specific activity does not exceed 30 times the activity concentration limit for exempt material values set out in the IAEA Regulations or in a certificate for a basic radionuclide value that is not listed in those Regulations.

• Marginal note:LSA-II material

  (2) LSA material is classified as LSA-II material if it consists of material

  • (a) that is less than 225 L of water with a tritium concentration that has an activity level not greater than 0.8 TBq/L; or

  • (b) in which the activity is distributed throughout and for which the estimated average specific activity does not exceed 10^-4 A₂/g for solids and gases and 10^-5 A₂/g for liquids.

• Marginal note:LSA-III material

  (3) LSA material is classified as LSA-III material if it consists of solid material that is not in powder form and that meets the applicable requirements of the IAEA Regulations.

Licence

Marginal note:Licensing requirements

• 6 (1) A person may transport a nuclear substance without a licence issued under subsection 24(2) of the Act for that purpose, except in the following cases:

  • (a) the nuclear substance is a Category I, II or III nuclear material, as defined in section 1 of the Nuclear Security Regulations, and is transported outside the area in which the material is required, under section 7 of those Regulations, to be processed, used or stored;

  • (b) the nuclear substance is in transit in a package of a certified design or in a package that has been approved as Type B(U)-96, Type C-96 or Type H(U)-96 by a foreign competent authority in accordance with the IAEA Regulations unless, in the case of transport by aircraft or ship, there is no scheduled stop in Canada;

  • (c) the nuclear substance is contained in a large object;

  • (d) the transport of the nuclear substance cannot meet the requirements of these Regulations;

  • (e) the transport of the nuclear substance requires a special use vessel; or

  • (f) the transport of the nuclear substance requires multilateral approval of shipments in accordance with the IAEA Regulations.

• Marginal note:Activity exemptions

  (2) A person may possess, transfer, import, export or use prescribed equipment without a licence issued under subsection 24(2) of the Act for that purpose.

• Marginal note:Packaging exemptions

  (3) A person may package a nuclear substance without a licence issued under subsection 24(2) of the Act for that purpose.

• Marginal note:Prohibitions imposed by section 26 of Act

  (4) For greater certainty, the exemptions established in subsections (1) to (3) relate only to the packaging and transport of nuclear substances and do not otherwise derogate from the prohibitions imposed by section 26 of the Act.