Nuclear Substances and Radiation Devices Regulations (SOR/2000-207)

Refusal to Certify

• 13 (1) The Commission or a designated officer authorized under paragraph 37(2)(a) of the Act shall notify a person who has applied for the certification of a model of a radiation device of a proposed decision not to certify the model, as well as the basis for the proposed decision, at least 30 days before refusing to certify it.

• (2) The notice shall include a description of the person’s right to be provided with an opportunity to be heard in accordance with the procedure referred to in section 15.

Decertification

• 14 (1) The Commission or a designated officer authorized under paragraph 37(2)(a) of the Act shall notify a person to whom a certificate for a model of a radiation device has been issued, and any licensee who is licensed in respect of that model, of a proposed decision to decertify the model, as well as the basis for the proposed decision, at least 30 days before decertifying it.

• (2) The notice shall include a description of the person’s and the licensee’s right to be provided with an opportunity to be heard in accordance with the procedure referred to in section 15.

Opportunity To Be Heard

• 15 (1) Where a person referred to in section 13 or 14 or a licensee referred to in section 14 has received a notice and has requested, within 30 days after the date of receipt of the notice, an opportunity to be heard either orally or in writing, the person or the licensee shall be provided with such an opportunity in accordance with the request.

• (2) On completion of a hearing held in accordance with subsection (1), every person and licensee who was notified in accordance with section 13 or 14 shall be notified of the decision and the reasons for it.

• (3) Where neither a person referred to in section 13 or 14 nor a licensee referred to in section 14 requests an opportunity to be heard within the period referred to in subsection (1), they shall be notified of the decision and the reasons for it.

General Obligations

Medical Supervision

16 No licensee shall use a radioactive nuclear substance or a radiation device on a person except as directed by a medical practitioner who is qualified to give such direction under the applicable provincial legislation.

Radiation Safety Instructions

17 Every licensee shall make available to all workers, at the site of the licensed activity, copies of any instructions referred to in the licence concerning radiation safety and accidents, including fires and spills, in which a nuclear substance may be involved.

Leak Tests

• 18 (1) Every licensee who possesses, uses or produces either a sealed source containing 50 MBq or more of a nuclear substance or a nuclear substance as shielding shall, at the following times, conduct leak tests on the sealed source or shielding using instruments and procedures that enable the licensee to detect a leakage of 200 Bq or less of the nuclear substance:

  • (a) where the sealed source or shielding is used after being stored for 12 or more consecutive months, immediately before using it;

  • (b) where the sealed source or shielding is being stored, every 24 months;

  • (c) where an event that may have damaged the sealed source or shielding has occurred, immediately after the event; and

  • (d) in all other cases,

    • (i) where the sealed source or shielding is located in a radiation device, every 12 months, and

    • (ii) where the sealed source or shielding is not located in a radiation device, every six months.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of a sealed source that is

  • (a) gaseous;

  • (b) contained in a static eliminator that has been retained by the licensee for less than 15 months;

  • (c) exempted under section 5, 6, 8 or 8.1; or

  • (d) used or stored underwater in a nuclear facility that is equipped with a device capable of detecting water-borne contamination of 200 Bq or less of a nuclear substance.

• (3) Where a licensee, in the course of conducting a leak test on a sealed source or on shielding, detects the leakage of 200 Bq or more of a nuclear substance, the licensee shall

  • (a) discontinue using the sealed source or shielding;

  • (b) discontinue using the radiation device in which the sealed source or shielding is located or may have been located;

  • (c) take measures to limit the spread of radioactive contamination from the sealed source or shielding; and

  • (d) immediately after complying with paragraphs (a) to (c), notify the Commission that the leakage has been detected.

Transfers

• 19 (1) Every licensee who transfers a radiation device shall provide the transferee with the instructions referred to in the radiation device certificate for dealing with accidents, including fires and spills.

• (2) A licensee who transfers a sealed source or a nuclear substance as shielding shall provide the transferee with a record of the most recent leak test conducted in accordance with section 18.

Radiation Survey Meters

20 No person shall use, for the purpose of the Act, the regulations made under the Act or an order or a licence, a radiation survey meter that has not been calibrated within the 12 months preceding its use.

Accidents

21 Where a radiation device is involved in an accident or is subjected to conditions other than those in which it is designed to operate, the licensee shall discontinue using it until the licensee performs a test or an inspection which establishes that it is functioning properly.

Labelling for Field Operations

22 No person shall use a radiation device in field operations unless the device has securely attached to it a durable, readily visible and legible label that sets out the name or job title and the telephone number of a person who can initiate the accident procedure referred to in the licence that has been issued in respect of the device and who can be contacted 24 hours a day.

Posting of Signs

23 Every licensee who is required under section 21 of the Radiation Protection Regulations to post a sign shall

• (a) post and keep posted, in a visible location at the place where the radioactive nuclear substance is used or stored, a durable and legible sign that indicates the name or job title and the telephone number of a person who can initiate any required emergency procedure and who can be contacted 24 hours a day; and

• (b) post and keep posted, in a visible location at every personnel access opening to any equipment fitted with a radiation device, a durable and legible sign that bears

  • (i) the radiation warning symbol set out in Schedule 3 to the Radiation Protection Regulations and the words “RAYONNEMENT — DANGER — RADIATION”, and

  • (ii) the requirement to follow the personnel entry procedures required by the licence.

Exposure Devices

Requirement for Operators

24 No person other than a certified exposure device operator, or a trainee who is acting under the direct supervision and continuous observation of a certified exposure device operator, shall operate an exposure device.

Application for Certification of Operator

25 The Commission or a designated officer authorized under paragraph 37(2)(b) of the Act may certify a person as an exposure device operator after receiving an application that includes the following information:

• (a) the person’s name and business address;

• (b) the person’s training and experience; and

• (c) evidence of the successful completion by the person of an examination recognized by the Commission.

Refusal to Certify

• 26 (1) The Commission or a designated officer authorized under paragraph 37(2)(b) of the Act shall notify a person who has applied for certification as an exposure device operator of a proposed decision not to certify the person, as well as the basis for the proposed decision, at least 30 days before refusing to certify the person.

• (2) The notice shall include a description of the person’s right to be provided with an opportunity to be heard in accordance with the procedure referred to in section 28.

Decertification

• 27 (1) The Commission or a designated officer authorized under paragraph 37(2)(b) of the Act shall notify a certified exposure device operator of a proposed decision to decertify the operator, as well as the basis for the proposed decision, at least 30 days before decertifying that operator.

• (2) The notice shall include a description of the certified exposure device operator’s right to be provided with an opportunity to be heard in accordance with the procedure referred to in section 28.

Opportunity To Be Heard

• 28 (1) Where a person referred to in section 26 or a certified exposure device operator referred to in section 27 has received a notice and has requested, within 30 days after the date of receipt of the notice, an opportunity to be heard either orally or in writing, the person or the operator shall be provided with such an opportunity in accordance with the request.

• (2) On completion of a hearing held in accordance with subsection (1), the person or the certified exposure device operator who requested an opportunity to be heard shall be notified of the decision and the reasons for it.

• (3) Where neither a person referred to in section 26 nor a certified exposure device operator referred to in section 27 requests an opportunity to be heard within the period referred to in subsection (1), they shall be notified of the decision and the reasons for it.

Surrender of Certificate

29 A certified exposure device operator, on being notified of a decision to decertify in accordance with subsection 28(2) or (3), shall immediately surrender to the Commission the certificate that was issued to the operator.

Obligations of Licensees

• 30 (1) Every licensee who possesses, uses or produces an exposure device shall

  • (a) ensure that there is affixed securely to the exposure device, by means of metal fasteners, a durable steel or brass tag that is readily visible and legibly inscribed with the name, quantity in becquerels, date of measurement of that quantity and form of the nuclear substance contained in the exposure device;

  • (b) lock the exposure device and keep it locked when it is not being used; and

  • (c) return a dosimeter referred to in paragraph (3)(c) to the dosimetry service that issued the dosimeter, within 10 days after the end of the period referred to in subsection 31(2).

• (2) Every licensee who becomes aware of any of the following situations shall notify the Commission immediately of the location and circumstances of the situation and of any action that the licensee has taken or proposes to take with respect to it:

  • (a) the exposure device or the sealed source assembly is lost, stolen or damaged to an extent that could impair its normal use;

  • (b) the exposure device has a radiation dose rate of more than 2 mSv per hour on any part of its surface when the sealed source assembly is in the shielded position;

  • (c) the sealed source assembly is separated from the exposure device when the latter is not being serviced; or

  • (d) the sealed source assembly fails to return to the shielded position inside the exposure device.

• (3) Every licensee who authorizes a person to operate an exposure device shall provide the person with

  • (a) a radiation survey meter that

    • (i) is capable of measuring a dose rate of gamma radiation from the sealed source of between 20 µSv and 100 mSv per hour, and

    • (ii) indicates that the power level of its batteries is sufficient for its operation;

  • (b) if an external sealed source assembly guide tube is to be used,

    • (i) material that can be used to attenuate, by a factor of at least 100, the radiation from the sealed source,

    • (ii) tools that can sever from the exposure device the tube and cable to which the sealed source assembly is attached, and

    • (iii) tongs with a shaft at least 1.5 m long that can handle the sealed source assembly;

  • (c) a dosimeter that

    • (i) has been issued by a licensed dosimetry service,

    • (ii) has not been used by another person since its last reading, and

    • (iii) is designed so that it can be worn on the trunk of the body;

  • (d) a dosimeter that

    • (i) has direct-reading display capability,

    • (ii) is of a type suitable for recording any dose of radiation that the person is likely to receive as a result of the operation of the exposure device,

    • (iii) has been calibrated or had its calibration verified, within the 12-month period prior to being provided, to an accuracy within 20 per cent of the true dose of radiation, and

    • (iv) is designed so that it can be worn on the trunk of the body;

  • (e) a dosimeter that

    • (i) is of a type suitable for recording any dose of radiation that the person is likely to receive as a result of the operation of the exposure device,

    • (ii) emits an audible warning signal when the radiation dose rate reaches or exceeds 5 mSv per hour or when the total dose of radiation reaches or exceeds 2 mSv, or emits an audible warning signal that increases proportionally to the radiation dose rate,

    • (iii) is designed to prevent an unintentional change in the radiation dose rate or total dose of radiation at which the dosimeter will emit an audible warning signal,

    • (iv) has been calibrated or had its calibration verified, within the 12-month period prior to being provided, to an accuracy within 20 per cent of the true dose of radiation, and

    • (v) is designed so that it can be worn on the trunk of the body;

  • (f) a sufficient number of durable and legible signs that bear the radiation warning symbol set out in Schedule 3 to the Radiation Protection Regulations and the words “RAYONNEMENT — DANGER — RADIATION” to enable the person to comply with paragraph 31(1)(k); and

  • (g) a sufficient number of forms to enable the person to keep the records referred to in paragraph 31(1)(e) and section 37.

• (4) No licensee shall authorize a person to operate an exposure device that

  • (a) does not appear to be functioning normally; or

  • (b) has a radiation dose rate of more than 2 mSv per hour on any part of its surface.

• (5) Every licensee who authorizes a person to remove a sealed source from or insert a sealed source into an exposure device shall provide the person with a written authorization signed by the licensee.

• (6) Every licensee shall limit the dose of radiation received by a person, other than a nuclear energy worker, as a result of the possession or use of an exposure device to 0.1 mSv per week and 0.5 mSv per year.

• (7) No licensee shall authorize any person to respond to any of the following situations unless the person has received specialized training in the safety, regulatory and technical requirements for dealing with those situations or has received training in the safety, regulatory and technical requirements for dealing with those situations and is acting under the guidance of a person who has received the specialized training:

  • (a) the exposure device or the sealed source assembly is damaged to an extent that could impair its normal use;

  • (b) the exposure device has a radiation dose rate of more than 2 mSv per hour on any part of its surface when the sealed source assembly is in the shielded position;

  • (c) the sealed source assembly is separated from the exposure device when the latter is not being serviced; or

  • (d) the sealed source assembly fails to return to the shielded position inside the exposure device.