Licensed dosimetry services

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) licenses dosimetry services under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act. Licence requirements are set out in the Radiation Protection Regulations. CNSC licensees must use a licensed dosimetry service to measure and monitor the doses of radiation received by and committed to nuclear energy workers (NEWs) who have a reasonable probability of receiving:

• an effective dose greater than 5 mSv in a 1-year dosimetry period, or
• an equivalent dose to the skin, or the hands and feet, that is greater than 50 mSv in a 1-year dosimetry period

There are 2 categories of licensed dosimetry services:

• commercial dosimetry services, where licensed dosimetry is provided to external clients
• in-house dosimetry services, where licensed dosimetry is provided internally to an organization’s own employees and visitors

Every dosimetry service provider must meet the technical and management system requirements outlined in CNSC regulatory document REGDOC-2.7.2, Dosimetry, Volume II: Technical and Management System Requirements for Dosimetry Services.

National Dose Registry

The National Dose Registry (NDR) is Canada's national repository for the radiation dose records of Canadian workers. This includes the dose records of all persons monitored at CNSC-licensed facilities and involved in activities that are required by regulation to use licensed dosimetry.

The NDR is administered by Health Canada's Radiation Protection Bureau and supports Health Canada and Canadian regulatory authorities in their mandates to protect the health and safety of Canadians exposed to ionizing radiation in a variety of workplaces.

Every licensed dosimetry service provider is required to file with the NDR, at a frequency specified in the licence and in a form compatible with the NDR, specific information for each NEW for whom it has measured and monitored a dose of radiation.

Dosimetry service providers do not license all their dosimetry types. Therefore, clients need to be aware of the licensed dosimetry types offered by each provider. Choosing only licensed dosimetry types for measuring and monitoring doses of radiation received by and committed to NEWs will ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. Dose records from non-licensed dosimetry types will be provided to the client but will not be filed with the NDR.

The following table lists the CNSC-licensed commercial dosimetry services and the dosimetry types they are licensed to provide. Only doses measured by these dosimetry types are submitted to the NDR.

At this time, there are no CNSC-licensed dosimetry services for the measurement of equivalent dose to the lens of the eye.

Commercial licensed dosimetry services

Licensee	Dosimetry service type
Health Canada’s National Dosimetry Services	External – InLight Manual
	External – InLight Nova
	Extremity – InLight Nova Extremity
	Extremity – TLD-100 Model S (Saturn)
	Neutron – Neutrak dosimeter
Landauer Inc.	External – Luxel+ Model Pa
	External/Neutron – Luxel+ Models Ja and Ta
	Extremity – TLD-100 Model S (Saturn)
	Neutron – CR-39 Models E and N
Mirion Technologies (GDS), Inc.	External – GDS TLD-760
	Extremity – GDS MeasuRing and GDS Ultra Ring
	Extremity – GDS TLD-760
	Neutron – GDS CR-39
Radiation Safety Institute of Canada (RSIC)	Radon progeny and long-lived radioactive dust – RSIC Personal Alpha Dosimeter
Kinectrics Inc.	Internal – Alpha spectroscopy of urine and feces for 238Pu, 239,240Pu, 241Am, 242Cm, 244Cm
	Internal – ICP-MS of urine for 234U, 235U, 238U, 239Pu, 240Pu

Licence applications

There is currently no application guide available for a dosimetry service licence.

To request a dosimetry service licence, applicants must submit an application to the CNSC in accordance with section 18 of the Radiation Protection Regulations. The application must include the following information:

• a description of the proposed operation of the dosimetry service
• the proposed management system
• the types of dosimetry services proposed to be provided
• the precision, accuracy and reliability of the dosimetry services to be provided
• the proposed qualification requirements and training program for workers

REGDOC-2.7.2, Dosimetry, Volume II: Technical and Management System Requirements for Dosimetry Services, sets out the technical and management system requirements for a dosimetry service licensed by the CNSC. These requirements ensure that dosimetry results are accurate, repeatable, verifiable and properly recorded, in accordance with the Nuclear Safety and Control Act and the Radiation Protection Regulations. 

Applicants must clearly demonstrate in their submission how they meet the technical and management system requirements applicable to all dosimetry service types to be licensed. The applicant must ensure that the information provided in the application and in any attached supporting documents is clear, precise, accurate and complete.

Before submitting an application to the CNSC, applicants must ensure that:

• the application is complete
• all supporting documents are attached, clearly identified, and cross-referenced to relevant sections of REGDOC-2.7.2, Volume II
• proof of the applicant’s legal status is attached

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that the licence application contains sufficient information to meet regulatory requirements and to demonstrate that they are qualified to carry on the licensed activity and will make adequate provision to protect the environment and the health, safety and security of persons.

Applicants must also submit the information required by section 3 of the General Nuclear Safety and Control Regulations in their application. This includes the following:

• Applicant

  Provide the legal name of the organization or individual applying for the licence as it appears on the proof of legal status documentation, such as the proof of incorporation or sole proprietorship.

  Name an individual as applicant only if that person is a sole proprietor or will be solely responsible for the licence.

• Head office address

  Provide the legal, physical address of the applicant’s head office.

  The address should include the street name and number, the rural route number, the city, the province or territory, and the postal code, as appropriate. A post office box address is not acceptable as a head office address.

• Agent for service

  Provide the name of the agent for service if the applicant is outside Canada.

  Non-Canadian applicants must have and maintain an agent for service in Canada. An agent for service must be either an individual of a minimum of 18 years of age who is a resident of Canada or a corporation having its head office or registered office in Canada.

  Having an agent for service within Canada facilitates reliable access by the CNSC to a party qualified to receive information and legal process in Canada. A confirmation letter from the agent for service is required.

  Licensees must notify the CNSC within 15 days of any changes to this information.

• Mailing address

  Provide the mailing address if it is different from the head office address.

  The address should include the street name and number; the post office box or rural route number; the city; the province, territory or state; the postal code; and the country. A post office box is acceptable as a mailing address.

• Applicant authority

  Provide the name of a senior manager authorized to act as the applicant authority.

  The applicant authority must be a duly authorized representative of the applicant and have sufficient authority to direct the human and financial resources required to address any issue of non-compliance identified by the CNSC.

• Signing authority

  Provide the name of the signing authority.

  The signing authority is the person who has prepared the application and who has been delegated as the authority to apply for this specific licence on behalf of the applicant or licensee. This person certifies that the information submitted is true and correct to the best of their knowledge.

• Alternate contact

  Provide the name(s) and contact information of any alternate contacts who have been delegated the authority to apply for the dosimetry service licence on behalf of the applicant.

• Financial contact

  Provide the name and contact information of the person to be contacted for licence fee payments.

  If the applicant is exempt from payment of fees under the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission Cost Recovery Fees Regulations, the applicant does not need to provide this information.

• Proof of legal status

  If the applicant is a corporation, submit proof of incorporation and an official corporation profile report, including:

  • the corporation’s legal name
  • the corporation number
  • the date of incorporation
  • the registered office address

  Federally incorporated companies under the Canada Business Corporations Act can obtain an official corporation profile report from Industry Canada. For provincially incorporated corporations, similar profile reports are available from the province in which the corporation was registered.

  Canadian applicants should submit the business number identifier assigned to them by the Canada Revenue Agency. Applicants from outside Canada should provide the equivalent information available through their local jurisdiction.

• Application type

  Identify the proposed activities that the applicant intends to conduct.

The following table lists the various types of dosimetry service licences.

Commercial dosimetry services	In-house dosimetry services
External radiation (use-type 591)	External radiation (use-type 595)
Internal radiation (use-type 592)	Internal radiation (use-type 596)
Radon progeny (use-type 593)	Radon progeny (use-type 597)
Consolidated – any 2 of external radiation, internal radiation and radon progeny (use-type 594)	Consolidated – any 2 of external radiation, internal radiation and radon progeny (use-type 598)

• Location

  Provide the location(s) (complete civic address) where the applicant’s licensed activities will take place.

• Language of licence

  Specify the preferred official language(s) for the dosimetry service licence.

• Management structure

  Append detailed information about the applicant’s management system and organization structure related to the licensed activities.

  The information provided must include:

  • the names and position titles of everyone responsible for the management and control of the licensed activities
  • a copy of the organization chart, showing the applicant’s lines of reporting as they relate to the specific licence

For information on other licensing matters, please contact the CNSC Info Account at cnsc.info.ccsn@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca.