Consolidated facility licence

Consolidated facility licences are useful when an organization either operates several types of Class II prescribed equipment or operates and services its own equipment, provided that all activities follow the same radiation safety program. For example, Canadian cancer centres operate different types of radiotherapy equipment, such as medical accelerators and brachytherapy remote afterloaders, and often service the equipment as well. Instead of requiring a separate licence for each different type of Class II facility or activity at an institution, offering a consolidated facility licence minimizes duplication and the administrative overhead of licensing the site.

This page contains further information on consolidation for licensees:

• Consolidated use types
• Restrictions on consolidation
• Medical lifecycle licences

Consolidated use types

The CNSC has established several licence classifications or “use types”, which allow institutions to consolidate their operating and servicing licences under a single CNSC licence. These use types are:

• 524 – operate and service medical accelerator and other radiotherapy facilities
• 525 – operate medical accelerator and other radiotherapy facilities
• 526 – conduct manual brachytherapy, operate and service medical accelerator and other radiotherapy facilities
• 527 – conduct manual brachytherapy, operate medical accelerator and other radiotherapy facilities
• 616 – operate and service an isotope production accelerator facility
• 619 – operate and service a research particle accelerator facility
• 635 – operate and service an irradiator facility
• 638 – operate and service a pool type irradiator facility
• 645 – operate and service a veterinary teletherapy facility
• 667 – develop, test and service Class II prescribed equipment

Consolidated licences must be renewed every 10 years. Any licensees who believe that they could benefit from a consolidated licence should contact their project officer.

Restrictions on consolidation

Licences can be consolidated if all of the licensed activities are conducted under a single, integrated radiation safety program. This means that:

• the same organizational management structure and the same radiation safety officer are responsible for overseeing all of the licences to be consolidated
• there is a single radiation safety manual or common set of radiation safety policies and procedures that apply to all of the licensed activities

Note that new Class II nuclear facilities to be constructed, as well as replacement equipment to be installed in existing bunkers, are still subject to the normal process of applying for separate construction and commissioning licences. New equipment can be integrated into a consolidated operating licence once commissioning has been completed.

Medical lifecycle licence

In addition to being able to consolidate various operating and servicing licences, medical facilities can now consolidate some facility phases: routine operation, operation for the purpose of commissioning, and decommissioning. This will allow medical facilities to replace conventional linear accelerators more efficiently while still ensuring safety. Any existing medical facility is eligible for a lifecycle licence. However, newly built facilities will first need to be successfully commissioned and operating routinely before they can be added to a lifecycle licence.

Decommissioning of equipment at a medical facility can be completed under a lifecycle licence if:

• the equipment is a medical linear accelerator of any type

Commissioning of equipment at a medical facility can be completed under a lifecycle licence if:

• the equipment is certified
• the equipment is a conventional linear accelerator where the direction of the radiation beam is restricted to a single vertical plane of rotation
• the safety case for the bunker remains unchanged, that is:
  • the shielding of the bunker is the same
  • the isocentre of the equipment is the same
  • the maximum energy of the new equipment does not exceed the design limit for the bunker as specified in the licence
• the safety systems in the facility remain intact and in the same location

If you are unsure about whether a replacement can be completed under a lifecycle licence, or to apply for a licence, contact your facility’s licensing officer.