Summary of Proceedings of the 2011 Annual Federal Provincial Territorial Radiation Protection Committee (FPTRPC) Meeting

October 18 - 21, 2011

Synopsis

The FPTRPC, an intergovernmental committee of radiation protection regulators, meets on an annual basis in order to discuss a number of issues of common interest. This past year, the FPTRPC meet from October 18 - 21, 2011. Radiation protection issues with both ionizing and non-ionizing issues were discussed, covering everything from tanning salons and "blue light" dental filling curing devices to Canada's response to the Fukushima event and amendments to the CNSC's radiation protection regulations. The working groups of Committee provided updates to a number of draft FPTRPC documents and amendments to current ones. A summary of the events is provided.

The Meeting

The Federal Provincial Territorial Radiation Protection Committee (FPTRPC) is an intergovernmental committee dedicated to the advancement, development and harmonization of practices and standards associated with radiation protection. To fulfill its commitment, the FPTRPC has established subcommittees and working groups to:

• provide a national focus for government radiation protection agencies
• promote the harmonization of radiation health and safety programs
• identify emerging issues in radiation protection and recommend actions to the appropriate jurisdictions
• develop and harmonize radiation protection standards, guidelines and input for legislation
• provide a forum for representatives of the provinces and territories, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Department of National Defence, Health Canada and other federal departments/agencies
• consider requests from other governmental committees and agencies concerned with health, safety and environmental issues and liaise regularly with such committees and agencies

For further information on the FPTRPC, please consult the following Web site:

Federal Provincial Territorial Radiation Protection Committee (FPTRPC)

The FPTRPC met in Ottawa on October 18-21, 2011 for its annual meeting. The meeting was co-chaired by Dr. Patsy Thompson of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), Eric Pellerin of Health Canada and Gary Hughes of the Government of Alberta. The key points of the 2011 annual meeting are summarized in this document.

Summary of the Proceedings

The Business Plan/Communication Working Group updated members on the FPTRPC business plan and communication activities over the past year. The business plan will be updated as the current plan ends in 2011. As a result, the FPTRPC Web site is to be changed to include updated working group terms of reference; a summary of current projects; a list of all working groups and responsible chairs; and a summary of the annual meeting and action items.

The Joint Document Working Group reported that the document Laser Hair Removal Safety Guidelines for Owners & Operators is ready to be published on the FPTRPC Web page. A review of the guidelines for the transport of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) is underway. Comments from the review will be shared with all FPTRPC members for approval in the near future.

The Radiation Standards Working Group is in the process of reviewing the document Dosimetry Guidance for Personnel Occupationally Exposed to Ionizing Radiation. The working group discussed issues associated with use of radiation warning signs for x-ray and gamma sources and will be working on a strategy to harmonize the signage and the creation of a signage standard. Gary Hughes presented on the standardization of radiation warning signs in Alberta cancer care facilities with the goal of using internationally recognized signs to ensure members of the public can easily determine what the hazard is.

The Canadian NORM Working Group is finalizing amendments to the Canadian NORM guidelines. The CNSC will review the guidelines prior to final approval by the FPTRPC. Henry Rabski of the CNSC presented on the portal monitor outreach program. The presentation highlighted concerns industry has with the handling and disposal of radioactive materials discovered by the monitoring systems.

The Provincial Radiation Dosimetry Review subcommittee updated members on their activities. Tristan Barr from the CNSC's Radiation and Health Sciences Division has joined the subcommittee and gave an overview presentation on dosimetry service licensing activities at the CNSC. He will be monitoring difficulties licensees are experiencing when submitting dosimetry results to the National Dose Registry.

The Canadian Medical Dose Working Group has not been active in the past year. Members of the working group have been discussing their terms of reference and mandate statement. There was discussion of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement Report no. 160, Ionizing Radiation Exposure of the Population of the United States which provides dose statistics from natural and artificial sources of radiation and in particular, medical doses. Such medical dose information is not available in Canada due in part to the difficulty accessing medical information.

The Canadian Mammography Working Group provided recommendations for Health Canada's new Mammography Safety Code. Health Canada will be contacting the Canadian Association of Radiologists to develop a quality control and quality assurance strategy. The Province of Quebec is implementing the mandatory use of "quality control in mammography" software, for the collection of mammography data. The software package, which is used to develop and analyze images, will be issued at no cost.
Narine Martel of Health Canada presented on updates to the new mammography safety code. The new safety code will be published and posted on the Health Canada Web page by October 2013.

The Medical X-ray Utilization Working Group is in support of the recent ICRP draft report entitled Radiological Protection Education and Training for Healthcare Staff and Students and recommends that the FPTRPC adopt the ICRP's recommendations.

The Electromagnetic Field Working Group stated that Health Canada will be posting an "It's Your Health" document on smart meters in the near future. The working group has reviewed Health Canada's document on Wi-Fi networks. When this is updated, the working group will decide on its endorsement. The working group will continue to monitor EMF literature in the coming year.

The Tanning Beds Working Group updated the FPTRPC on its progress to date. Members have shared updates from their respective jurisdictions. The working group is proposing changes to the existing national guidelines for tanning salon operators, owners and users. Health Canada is to move their Sun Awareness Program to the Web for greater accessibility.

The Radon Working Group reviewed the radon action status for each province and territory. Kelley Bush of Health Canada provided an update on the status of the residential radon survey across Canada. The final report is to be completed early in 2012.

Presentations

In addition to the working group's summaries, presentations were given by various members and guests. Highlights from these presentations include:

• ICRP's Scientific Secretary, Christopher Clement, presented the ICRP framework and activities over the past year. Highlights include the recommendation to lower the equivalent dose limit for workers to the lens of an eye to 20 mSv/year, updated dose conversion coefficients for radiological protection quantities, and the assembly of a task group to evaluate the events of the Fukushima accident.
• CNSC's Vice-President of the Technical Support Branch, Terry Jamieson, provided an overview of current activities involving the Technical Support Branch. These included the Joint Review Panel for the Darlington new build project environmental assessment (EA), the EA for the deep geological repository project proposed by Ontario Power Generation, review of the implications of the new ICRP recommendations on radon, review of licensing and compliance processes for dosimetry licences, and the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear event.
• On behalf of Rachel Lane, Dr. Patsy Thompson of the CNSC presented the recently completed study "Verifying Canadian Nuclear Safety Worker Radiation Risk: A Reanalysis of Cancer Mortality in Canadian Nuclear Energy Workers (1957-1994) Summary Report". The report is available on the CNSC Web site.
• Lothar Doehler of the Ontario Ministry of Labour, gave a presentation on the revisions made in the Memorandum of Understanding with the CNSC and Human Resources and Skill Development Canada (HRSDC) resulting from the Bruce Power alpha radiation event in 2009/2010.
• Adelene Gaw of the CNSC updated the Committee on revisions to the radiation safety data sheets posted on the CNSC Web site. The data sheets contain specific information for radionuclides commonly used by industry.
• Presentations by Health Canada and the CNSC detailing the joint federal response to the Fukushima Daiichi event were covered in great detail. Provincial and territorial representatives indicated that the information provided by the federal government agencies was used to disseminate information to the public; they found that the information provided by the news media was not always accurate.
• Kavita Murthy of the CNSC presented changes to the regulatory oversight of accelerators operating between 1 and 10 MeV. The CNSC will become the regulatory authority over low energy electron accelerators by December 2013.
• Kevin Bundy of the CNSC presented the process that will be used to initiate amendments to the Radiation Protection Regulations. A discussion paper is to be issued early 2012 for public consultation and the proposed amendments will be presented to the Commission in late summer 2012, with a target of publication of the new regulations in 2013 or 2014.
• As requested by members of the FPTRPC, François Dagenais of the CNSC presented an overview of the Packaging and Transport of Nuclear Substances Regulations.
• Andrew McAllister of the CNSC gave a presentation on the Darlington New Build Joint Review Panel process, including lessons learned from the process.
• Dr. Patsy Thompson of the CNSC gave an update on the activities of the IAEA's Radiation Safety Standards Committee. CNSC staff are seeking input from FPTPRC members on documents that are beyond the mandate of the CNSC or are of mutual interest.
• Kevin Bundy of the CNSC provided an update of the documents published by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) this year and what documents are under development.
• Dr. Chunsheng Li of Health Canada gave an overview of their draft Canadian Emergency Medical Management Guide being developed in conjunction with the Canadian Forces Health Services Group.
• Louis Marcotte gave a presentation on issues and challenges being encountered by the National Dose Registry (NDR).
• Mary Hill and Harri Maharaj of Health Canada presented on the amendments to Safety Code 34, Radiation Protection and Safety for Industrial X-ray Equipment and the new guidance document on cabinet x-ray devices.
• Narine Martel presented the plans for conducting a National Survey of Computed Tomography. The survey will collect information necessary for recommending up-to-date national diagnostic reference levels and is planned to begin in the Fall of 2012.
• James McNamee provided an update on the recent International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classification of exposure to radiofrequency (RF) energy. IARC's recent classification of RF energy as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" is an acknowledgement that limited data exists that suggests RF energy might cause cancer. At present, the scientific evidence is far from conclusive and more research is required.
• Dr. Abderrachid Zitouni of British Colombia's Centre for Disease Control presented on a radiofrequency (RF) toolkit for health officers. It was created in August 2011 and provides RF information to members of the public and decision makers. 
• Dr. Zitouni also gave a presentation on dental cone beam CT imaging. Safety Code 30 does not address dental 3D imaging and there is concern about the use of 3D imaging and patient dose, shielding requirements, quality control, and training requirements.
• Greg Gajda of Health Canada gave a presentation on the evaluation of power density levels from smart meters. To date, RF transmission levels are well below Safety Code 6 criteria.
• Stephen Keith of Health Canada presented a new study on sound levels during use of MP3 players by 10-17 year old students. The study is to be available November 2011.
• Jonathan Paradis of Health Canada updated the Committee on their assessment of hand-held laser pointers. Health Canada is currently reviewing the options to manage the risks associated with class 3B and 4 lasers.
• Sami Qutob of Health Canada gave a presentation on the "blue light" that is used in dentistry to cure fillings. These devices emit optical radiation and therefore fall under the Radiation Emitting Devices Act. As they are also medical devices, they fall under the Medical Devices Regulations which requires a medical device licence. There are currently no specific federal regulations for blue light dental curing devices.

In conclusion to this year's FPTRPC meeting, working group and subcommittee members discussed the path forward for the coming year. The meeting concluded October 21, 2011. The next annual meeting is scheduled for October 23-26, 2012.