REGINA — Amendments have been made to The Radiation Health and Safety Regulations, 2005 that will come into force Aug. 8, 2024.
According to a government press release, the amendments focus on enhancing protection of radiation workers, reducing administrative burden, improving access to service and reducing fees:
- Worker protection amendments ensure that workers are informed and can take necessary precautions to reduce their exposure. This includes requiring an owner/operator of radiation equipment to inform a worker of their designation as a radiation worker, the risks of radiation exposure and the risks of radiation exposure during pregnancy.
- Reducing administrative burden will help reduce costs of owners and operators of radiation equipment without having an impact on the regulatory oversight.
- Improving access to services.
- Reducing fees for services that have been outsourced to the private sector including:
- Discontinuing the requirement to report routine worker doses to the Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety.
- Reducing the dose record keeping period from permanent to five years.
- Simplifying the required preventive maintenance schedule of x-ray equipment.
- Discontinuing the requirement to register laser light shows and medical ultrasound equipment.
- Adding occupational therapist to the list of operators of class 3, 3B and 4 lasers and therapeutic ultrasound equipment to ensure easier patient access to a distinct set of services.
- Eliminating the fees for registration of x-ray equipment, leak test analysis, radon measurement, calibration of radiation monitoring equipment, inspections and examinations.
- Aligning the fee for consultation services to be reflective of the current cost of the service.
The amendments come after a review of The Radiation Health and Safety Regulations, 2005 was undertaken in the summer of 2021 to address changes in technological advances, radiation practices and remove redundancies.
