The External Hazards of Alpha Particles
In November 2024, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission sent an e-mail to licensees informing them that alpha particles with an energy greater than 7 MeV could deliver a significant dose to the skin. This represents a paradigm shift in how we understand the external hazards presented by alpha particles. This discovery also coincides with a […]
Benchmarked survey of (and solutions for) workplace laser safety regulations in Canada
The proliferation of laser technology has significantly lowered the barrier to entry, leading to widespread adoption across various industries. However, this rapid integration has outpaced the understanding of the inherent hazards associated with lasers, resulting in misconceptions and gaps in knowledge regarding compliant and safe workplace practices. Firstly, this paper aims to identify and discuss […]
CNSC Question & Answer Panel
Join us for a question and answer session with CNSC management! The panel will include:-The Director General of the Directorate of Nuclear Substance Regulation-The Director of the Accelerators and Class II Facilities Division-The Director of the Operations Inspection Division-The Director of the Nuclear Substances and Radiation Devices Licensing Division
Radiation Protection Performance in Nuclear Medicine: Trends and Guidance
Every year, the CNSC tracks performance data for our licensees to identify trends and inform our regulatory efforts. In recent years, the nuclear medicine subsector has shown a significant decline in performance in the Radiation Protection Safety and Control area. This presentation will give an overview of nuclear medicine compliance data in Canada. It will […]
The Future is Now: Coming improvements in the CNSC licensing process and streamlining your licence
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC)is striving to modernize the way it works. Timely updates of regulatory documents ensure that the regulatory framework aligns with international requirements, includes operational experience and the comments of licensees. Work is underway to support the innovation of new technologies, from small modular reactors and proton therapy to those developments […]
Addressing the Decline of Academic Health Physics Programs: Challenges, Solutions, and Opportunities for the Future
This presentation will highlight the status of academic Health Physics programs in North America, introduce potential solutions, and share some opportunities for practicing experts to efficiently maximize their impact on the next generation. The need for Health Physicists continues to grow with new reactor designs, the increase in novel radiopharmaceuticals, the need to manage environmental […]
Reevaluating the Linear No-Threshold Model: The Role of Organ-on-Chip Technology
The linear no-threshold (LNT) model, the long-standing basis for radiation regulation, faces persistent and significant scientific debate regarding its accuracy at low doses (below 10cSv/y). Recent studies offer no conclusive resolution, with results distributed across LNT, non-linear risk models, and hermetic models. Additionally, research is expanding into the potential role of radiation in non-cancerous diseases […]
Considerations Regarding Operational Dose Quantities Proposed by ICRU 95
In 2021, the ICRP initiated the revision of the general recommendations of the system of Radiation Protection, and part of it will focus on dose quantities. The recently published ICRP Publication 147 and ICRU Report 95 have described the extent of the proposed modifications and paved the way for the strategy to be adopted. These […]
Environmental Dosimetry and its Role in Radiological Monitoring from Coast to Coast to Coast
Health Canada’s National Dosimetry Service Division (NDS), runs a small environmental dosimetry program in support of the HC National Monitoring Section’s (NMS) efforts to characterize the gamma component of background rates across Canada. Passive environmental dosimeters (Landauer InLight design), are distributed to NMS stations in every province and territory on a quarterly basis, which are […]
A comprehensive radiological investigation of soils and water resources in artisanal gold mining areas in Ghana: Mining activities vs radiological risks
Global mining activity has intensely increased in response to the rise in gold demand and prices over the last two decades. Mining has been recognized as a potential source of radioactive exposure in the environment. Investigations of natural radionuclides, radon activity concentration and radon exhalation rates in soils, and in surface and groundwater resources were […]