Dose Limits

Ionizing radiation is found in:

• workplaces in the nuclear industry; and
• x-ray equipment in hospitals, dental clinics, veterinary clinics, labs, research facilities, and other places.

An occupational dose limit is the amount of ionizing radiation a person is not allowed to exceed at work in a given time period, usually a year to 5 years. These limits are determined by federal, provincial, and territorial regulators. Occupational dose limits do not include natural background radiation (background is subtracted from the dosimeter results) nor do they include radiation received for diagnosis or treatment.

A unit called the millisievert (mSv) is used to measure how much radiation a person receives.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission sets radiation dose limits for nuclear energy workers. Typical sources of radiation include:

• nuclear reactors
• radioisotope sources
• particle accelerators

Provinces and territories set radiation dose limits for exposure to X-rays in the workplace. These vary from province to province.