CRPA–CNSC Working Group Strengthens Canada’s Radiation Protection Culture
For some time now, The Canadian Radiation Protection Association (CRPA) has been meeting with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) to exchange information relevant to all stakeholders in the licensee community regarding challenges in our regulatory system.[1]
The primary goal of these biannual CRPA-CNSC exchanges is to promote a strong radiation protection culture among CNSC licensees across Canada. CRPA representatives relay your questions, comments, and suggestions and all topics are discussed, so please feel free to contact us with your concerns. This working group is a unique opportunity to make your voice heard.
The official minutes of the working group’s discussions are available in the member-only section of the CRPA website. CRPA members can log in to read the full minutes of the meeting held on May 29, 2025, and I am including a brief synopsis of the discussion below.
Consolidation of use types
CNSC provided an update on the consolidation of use type groups for nuclear medicine licences. The categories have now been consolidated into two new types—Diagnostic and Therapeutic and Diagnostic, Therapeutic, and Human Research—which were approved in March and became effective at the end of April 2025.
CNSC noted that the process is still being fine-tuned. Updated information, including new use types and payment formulas, is available on the CNSC website. The licence application guide (REGDOC-1.6.1) has not yet been revised to reflect these changes. CNSC will merge existing licence conditions but will not introduce new ones. For licensees holding multiple licences, the latest expiry date will be used on the new consolidated licence.
Compliance with Radiation Protection Program, Section 25, and instrumentation
CNSC provided a high-level update addressing ongoing performance issues among nuclear medicine licensees, as documented in annual regulatory oversight reports over the last several years. CNSC staff have been considering these issues in the context of compliance with Radiation Protection Program, section 25 (RP25).
CRPA members raised concerns regarding RP25, specifically that instrumentation calibration requirements appear to have shifted from 100% to 50%, which contradicts regulatory standards. CNSC committed to following up with radiation protection (RP) to clarify the rationale for this change.
Radiation safety officer time
Concerns about insufficient radiation safety officer (RSO) time persist across jurisdictions. CNSC reiterated that it does not prescribe or recommend specific time allocations, leaving such decisions to the applicant authority (AA). However, AAs often lack a full understanding of the operational demands of radiation safety programs.
RSOs are working to define expected time commitments based on specific tasks, though early feedback from senior management has been mixed. A national poll revealed significant inconsistency in how organizations assign dedicated RSO time.
Definition of servicing
The working group revisited the definition of “servicing” under the Nuclear Substances and Radiation Devices (NSRD) Regulations, which define it as maintenance beyond what is required for routine use.
Concerns were raised about third-party contractors performing servicing work without sufficient operational training. If a contractor requires device operation for servicing, they must undergo appropriate training and be added as authorized users under the servicing licence.
Meeting dates
The working group meets at least twice per year. Most recently, the group met on December 5, 2025, to discuss the following:
- licence consolidation,
- the role and operation of service licences,
- compliance with certain sections of the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, and
- expectations regarding the role of RSOs and commitments of the Applicant Authority.
At least one meeting each year is held at the same time as the CRPA annual conference.
Meeting minutes on the CRPA website
I hope this article has piqued your curiosity. If you are a CRPA member, you can find a more complete summary of the May 29 meeting in the members-only section of the CRPA website. This is also where all future minutes from CRPA–CNSC Working Group meetings will be shared. So, check back to find the minutes of the December 5 meeting.
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[1] The mission of the CRPA-CNSC Working Group is to provide a forum for communication and information sharing, involving stakeholders in the regulated community, with the aim of promoting a strong radiation safety culture in licensees across Canada. See the Terms of Reference for the working group.
Stéphane Jean-François
Stéphane Jean-FrançoisProtecting the wide diversity of people who use ionizing radiation since 1992—that sums up the career of Stéphane Jean-François, physics engineer. Within CRPA, he found experts, allies, and friends who encouraged him to excel. He served as a director, and later president of the board, was the editor-in-chief of this Bulletin and was recognized for his contributions with the CRPA Founder’s Award and Meritorious Service Award.
Stéphane has stepped out of his comfort zone on several occasions, in process safety, environmental management, emergency response, and communication (a field he is particularly fond of). Stéphane works as a certified health physicist for Radioprotection Inc., a company that allows him to put on a lab coat in the morning at a hospital and a fire-retardant suit in the afternoon at a refinery, all to improve radiation protection and pass it on to the next generation of professionals. He spends his vacations attending radiation protection conferences and training courses around the world.
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