Canada's Regulatory Approach to the Transportation of Radioactive Materials

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) is the federal regulator for nuclear energy and materials in Canada. The CNSC’s mandate includes the regulation of all nuclear materials in Canada to protect health, safety, security and the environment; to implement Canada’s international commitments on the peaceful use of nuclear energy; and to disseminate objective, scientific, technical and regulatory information to the public. The CNSC’s regulatory framework is based on the Nuclear Safety and Control Act (NSCA), under which exist a suite of 13 associated regulations. To navigate these regulations and provide further clarity of its expectations, the CNSC has created a set of regulatory documents (REGDOCs) which detail the CNSC’s approach to regulating the nuclear industry. With respect to transportation activities, the CNSC’s regulatory framework begins with the Packaging and Transport of Nuclear Substances Regulations 2015 (PTNSR 2015), which apply to all persons transporting, or offering for transport, nuclear substances. The PTNSR 2015 introduces an ambulatory reference to the IAEA’s SSR-6 Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material (as amended from time to time), thereby ensuring that Canada’s domestic regulations continue to remain aligned with international practices for the packaging and transport of nuclear substances. In addition to the PTNSR 2015, transport activities must also comply with the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations, which are implemented by Transport Canada and deal with the transport of all classes of dangerous goods. Although the CNSC is the sole federal regulator for the use of nuclear substances in Canada, the CNSC and Transport Canada work cooperatively to maintain regulatory oversight of the transport of radioactive material, while minimizing regulatory duplication. Finally, the CNSC’s regulatory document framework includes a number of REGDOCs related to transport, in order to further explain to licensees and applicants in the transportation sector what they must achieve in order to meet the requirements set out in the NSCA and the PTNSR 2015. This paper will provide an overview of the CNSC’s regulatory approach to the transportation of radioactive materials in Canada, its partnership with Transport Canada, and the use of regulatory documents to disseminate regulatory information related to transportation.