Regulatory Instrument Index

Two indexes of regulatory instruments are now available to help you reference and understand the various regulatory instruments at the CNSC which include items such as Regulations and regulatory documents.

One of the indexes sorts regulatory instruments according to applicable regulations, while the other sorts them according to their area of application and safety area.  They also include external links to standards developed by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Canadian Standards Association.

Please note that the CNSC Regulatory Instrument Index is provided solely for the convenience of users. While attempts are made to keep these listings as up-to-date and accurate as possible, the CNSC does not offer any guarantee of accuracy, and is not legally responsible for any errors or omissions contained within the Index. This Index is intended to be an "evergreen" document and will be revised from time to time in response to users’ needs.

Regulatory instruments listed by Regulation

• Download the Index of all CNSC Regulatory Instruments sorted by area of applicable Regulation (PDF) (Updated: August 2009)

Regulatory instruments listed by area of application and safety area

• Download the Index of all CNSC Regulatory Instruments sorted by area of application and safety area (PDF) (Updated: August 2009)

Areas of application

All nuclear activities and facilities in Canada are listed in five separate areas of application at the CNSC:

Operating nuclear power plants refers to Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) that are already in use to generate electricity. The CNSC regulates all aspects of NPP operations, proceeding progressively through the phases of site preparation, construction, commissioning, operating, refurbishment, decommissioning and abandonment.

New nuclear power plants refers to the potential construction of new Nuclear Power Plants (NPP), sometimes called “New Builds”.

Uranium mines and mills in Canada are regulated and licensed by the CNSC, for the protection of Canadians and the environment. The term “mine” encompasses the entire excavation and removal area of an operation. A “mill” refers to a facility at which ore is processed and treated for the recovery of uranium concentrate, and includes tailings-handling and water-treatment systems and areas.

Research reactors and medical isotopes refers to non-power reactors as well as nuclear research facilities that produce nuclear materials for peaceful purposes. These include scientific research and the creation of certain radioisotopes for medical use.

Nuclear substances, including radiation devices and Class II equipment are used in medical, academic and research facilities for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, as well as many industrial applications. This category includes, but is not limited to, open and sealed nuclear substances in various applications, equipment, and settings such as:

• device/equipment servicing, process control in production equipment, density and water content measurement in civil engineering work, Brachytherapy and transport and/or packaging;
• certain particle accelerators, irradiators, Teletherapy machines, industrial radiography, remote afterloaders; and,
• laboratories, hospitals, universities oil-and-gas exploration, and production.

Safety areas

Within each of these areas of application, there are eleven safety areas. These safety areas represent categories of issues and activities examined by the CNSC to ensure the safe operation of nuclear facilities:

Operating performance relates to the overall review of operations, and includes the licensee's program integration, facility management, status and material condition. This safety area also includes the review of every licensees’ conduct of operations, technical surveillance, compliance to requirements for reportable events, outage management and non-radiological health and safety.

Performance assurance relates to those activities that enable effective human and organizational performance through the development and implementation of management programs, standards, processes and procedures. CNSC staff specifically reviews the human performance aspects of a facility - such as the licensee's quality assurance, human factors and training programs.

Design and analysis relates to the activities that impact on the ability of systems in a facility to continually meet their design intent, given new information arising from operating experience, safety analysis or the review of safety issues.

Equipment fitness for service includes those programs which impact on the physical condition of various systems and components in the plant. Licensees must integrate the results of inspection and reliability programs into facility maintenance activities, in order to ensure that all structures, systems and components that may have an impact on safety will remain effective.

Emergency preparedness relates to the licensee's consolidated emergency plan and emergency preparedness program, as well as the results of emergency exercises.

Environmental performance relates to the licensee's programs to identify, control and monitor any releases of radioactive and hazardous substances from their facilities. More specifically, it includes radioactive and conventional waste management, effluent and environmental monitoring, emission data, unplanned releases, assessment of environmental protection systems, and compliance with provincial environmental regulations.

Radiation protection relates to the program in place to ensure that doses to workers do not exceed prescribed limits and are kept As Low As Reasonably Achievable (the ALARA principle).

Site security relates to the program required to implement and support the security requirements stipulated in the Nuclear Security Regulations for their facilities. It covers: security guard service (including its duties, responsibilities and training), protection arrangements with local response forces (as well as testing of emergency response plans), procedures to assess and respond to potential breaches of security, and security monitoring/assessment systems and communication equipment.

Safeguards relates to the measures taken by the licensees for respecting Canada's international obligations under the Treaty on the Non Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Pursuant to the Treaty, Canada has entered into a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which provides this organization with the right and the responsibility to verify that Canada is fulfilling its international commitments on the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Waste management relates to the measures undertaken to ensure that any radioactive or hazardous waste resulting from a licensed activity is appropriately stored, managed, processed or disposed of in a manner that assures the safety and security of workers, the public and the environment .

Financial guarantees ensure that licensees have sufficient funds to ensure the effective decommissioning of nuclear facilities, once operations are concluded.