Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
Regulatory Action - Health Canada’s National Dosimetry Services
Under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act and associated regulations, various levels of regulatory action can be taken by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) to protect the health, safety and security of Canadians and the environment.
2011
October 26, 2011
CNSC Request pursuant to Subsection 12(2) of the General Nuclear Safety and Control Regulations: Calculation error discovered in the dosimetry management system used to determine the wrist and ring dosimeter doses
Today, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) announced that it has issued an Information Request to Health Canada’s National Dosimetry Services (NDS) as a result of a calculation error discovered in the dosimetry management system used to determine the wrist and ring dosimeter doses. The error has led to under reporting of doses since June 2008. The NDS has been asked for corrective actions and a root cause analysis related to this event.
A total of 1,769 workers in 334 organizations are affected by the calculation error; of these, 3 individuals have re-calculated doses that exceed in one year the annual regulatory dose limit for extremities (i.e. hands) of 500 mSv. These overexposures are only marginally higher than the limit and well below levels at which health effects would occur.
There are no health consequences for any of the affected workers as a result of the error.
NDS is the largest commercial external dosimetry service licensed by the CNSC to provide monitoring and reporting services for radiation exposure (beta, gamma and neutron radiation) of workers in fields such as first response, medicine, dentistry, and research.
