Dosimetry Service Providers

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) licenses Dosimetry Service Providers under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act. Licence requirements are detailed in CNSC's Radiation Protection Regulations. The regulations state that licensees must use a licensed dosimetry service to measure the radiation doses to all employees who have a reasonable probability of receiving an effective dose of 5 mSv or greater in a year.

According to the regulations, an application for a licence to operate a dosimetry service shall contain the following information:

• a description of the proposed operation of the dosimetry service
• the proposed quality assurance program
• the types of dosimetry services proposed to be provided, including the types of radiation that will be monitored and their respective energy ranges
• the precision, accuracy and reliability of the dosimetry services to be provided
• the proposed qualification requirements and training program for workers

There are two categories of dosimetry service providers. Commercial service providers supply dosimetry for external clients, while in-house service providers are nuclear licensees with the capability of providing dosimetry services for their own employees and visitors. Each dosimetry service provider must meet the technical and quality assurance requirements outlined in CNSC's Technical and Quality Assurance Standards for Dosimetry Services (S-106 rev 1) (PDF). These include requirements for performance and calibration testing, with CNSC notification of any test failure.

Every licensee who operates a dosimetry service shall file with the National Dose Registry of Health Canada, at a frequency specified in the licence and in a form compatible with the Registry, specific information for each nuclear energy worker for whom it has measured and monitored a dose of radiation.