Regulatory Instruments Index: Definitions

Regulated Facilities and Activities

Academic and Research Laboratories

This category includes use of sealed and unsealed nuclear substances for research, laboratory studies, teaching and demonstration purposes. This includes the consolidated use of nuclear substances, and the use of self-shielded irradiators.

Non-Medical Accelerators

This category includes devices that accelerate electrons or other particles to produce high energy particle or x-ray radiation for commercial, academic or industrial purposes such as cyclotrons, research and industrial particle accelerators. For medical accelerators, see Radiation Therapy.

Device Manufacturing and Calibration

This category includes device manufacturing, development and testing of devices, as well as calibration services.

Distribution of Nuclear Substances and Radiation Devices

Distribution of nuclear substances and radiation devices.

Dosimetry Services

A facility for the measurement and monitoring of doses of radiation received by, or committed to, nuclear energy workers who have a reasonable probability of receiving an effective dose greater than 5 mSv in a one-year dosimetry period.

Fixed and Portable Gauges

This category includes radiation devices that are either not mobile or portable, that enable a nuclear substance to be used for its radiation properties typically in industrial settings.

Fuel Fabrication Facilities

A facility that manufactures nuclear fuel bundles for power reactors in Canada.

Import/Export

The import and export of controlled nuclear substances, controlled nuclear equipment and controlled nuclear information.

Industrial Radiography

This category includes industrial radiography, which is the use of nuclear substances for the non-destructive examination of materials.

Low Risk Devices

This category includes various usage of nuclear substances representing a low risk, such as: X-ray fluorescence and bone mineral analysis, electron capture detection, low energy imaging, beta backscatter gauging, electronic component testing, dew point detection, static elimination, radioluminescence, surge voltage protection, aircraft fuel gauges, remote blade inspection, smoke detection, lightning warning, liquid scintillation counters.

Nuclear Medicine and Human Research Studies

This category includes the use of nuclear substances in the fields of diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine, as well as human research studies.

Nuclear Power Plants

A facility that includes (a) a nuclear fission or fusion reactor or subcritical nuclear assembly; and (b) a vehicle that is equipped with a nuclear reactor.

Nuclear Substances and Radiation Devices

This category includes use of sealed sources such as logging, subsurface zone location and tracer studies, borehole tube tagging, geophysical logging accelerators, radioactive check sources. It also includes storage of nuclear substances, temporary possession of nuclear substances (no usage), or possession of deuterium.

Packaging and Transport

Packaging and transportation of all nuclear substances, regardless of their origin or use.

Processing of Nuclear Substances

The use of unsealed nuclear substances in laboratories, processing of unsealed nuclear substances, manufacturing of sealed nuclear substances, and repair of components containing radioactive luminous compounds.

Radiation Therapy

The radiation therapy category includes medical particle accelerators and other equipment designed for radiation therapy such as teletherapy, brachytherapy and gamma knife.

Servicing Class II Equipment

Servicing of a Class II prescribed equipment such as irradiators, particle accelerators, and brachytherapy remote after-loaders.

Servicing of Radiation Devices

This category includes basic and complex servicing of radiation devices.

Small Reactors

A reactor facility with a power level less than 200 megawatts thermal (MWt) that is used for research, isotope production, steam generation, electricity production or other applications.

Testing Establishments

A reactor facility used primarily for research, laboratory studies, teaching and demonstration purposes

Uranium Mines and Mills

A mine includes an excavation site and a removal site. A mill means a facility at which ore is processed and treated for the recovery of uranium concentrate, including any tailings-handling and water treatment system associated with the facility.

Veterinary Nuclear Medicine

This category includes veterinary nuclear medicine facilities.

Waste Management

Radioactive waste is any material (liquid, gaseous or solid) that contains a radioactive nuclear substance, as defined in section 2 of the Nuclear Safety and Control Act for which the owner has no foreseen use and that is determined to be a waste product.

Safety and Control Areas (SCA)

Management System

The framework which establishes the processes and programs required to ensure an organization achieves its safety objectives and continuously monitors its performance against these objectives while fostering a healthy safety culture.

Human Performance Management

Activities that enable effective human performance through the development and implementation of processes to ensure that licensee staff are sufficient in number in all relevant job areas and have the necessary knowledge, skills, procedures and tools in place to safely carry out their duties.

Operating Performance

An overall review of the conduct of the licensed activities and the activities that enable effective performance.

Safety Analysis

Maintenance of the safety analysis that supports the overall safety case for the facility. Safety analysis is a systematic evaluation of the potential hazards associated with the conduct of a proposed activity or facility and considers the effectiveness of preventative measures and strategies in reducing the effects of such hazards.

Physical Design

Activities that impact on the ability of systems, components and structures to meet and maintain their design basis given new information arising over time and taking changes in the external environment into account.

Fitness for Service

Activities that impact on the physical condition of systems, components and structures to ensure that they remain effective over time. This includes programs that ensure all equipment is available to perform its intended design function when called upon to do so.

Radiation Protection

Implementation of a radiation protection program in accordance with the Radiation Protection Regulations. This program must ensure that contamination and radiation doses received are monitored and controlled.

Conventional Health and Safety

Implementation of a program to manage workplace safety hazards and to protect personnel and equipment.

Environmental Protection

Programs that identify, control and monitor all releases of radioactive and hazardous substances and effects on the environment from facilities or as the result of licensed activities.

Emergency Management and Fire Protection

Emergency plans and emergency preparedness programs which exist for emergencies and for non-routine conditions. This also includes any results of participation in exercises.

Waste Management

Internal waste-related programs which form part of the facility’s operations up to the point where the waste is removed from the facility to a separate waste management facility. Also covers the planning for decommissioning.

Security

The programs required to implement and support the security requirements stipulated in the regulations, in licenses, in orders, or in expectations for their facility or activity.

Safeguards

Programs required for the successful implementation of the obligations arising from the Canada/IAEA Safeguards Agreement.

Packaging and Transport

Programs related to the safe packaging and transport of nuclear substances and radiation devices to and from the licensed facility.