1. Canada’s National Sealed Source Registry
National Registers of Radiation Sources IAEA Workshop March 20-23, 2017
Sandra Mortimer
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
e-Docs #

2. Overview Regulatory oversight Inventory systems On-site verification
Information collected
Challenges and lessons learned

3. Regulatory oversight Cradle to grave Risk-informed approach for:
Regulatory framework, policies and decision-making
Assigning resources
Licensing and compliance verification
Graduated enforcement

4. Regulatory oversight 2 200 nuclear substances licensees
CNSC issues licences
Licenses are required to:
manufacture, possess, use, transfer, import/export, process, manage, store or dispose of a sealed source
2 200 nuclear substances licensees
Licensees are responsible for safety and security

5. History
Canada developed National Sealed Source Registry and implemented the Sealed Source Tracking System in 2006
Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Sealed Sources
Emphasis on tracking high-risk sources
Annual reporting medium- and low-risk sealed sources

6. Pieces of the puzzle Regulatory requirements
Sealed Source Tracking system (SSTS)
National Sealed Source Registry (NSSR)
Annual inventory review
Compliance verification program
Options for enforcement action

7. Pieces of the puzzle Sealed Source Tracking System (SSTS)
Category 1 and 2 sources
Secure information-management system
Licensees report source movement online
Receive, transfer, exchange, create, export, import
Transfer and receipt required for each movement
Data enters NSSR
Tools include decay calculator and category identification

8. Transfer Controls (SSTS)
Licensee reporting
Source creation
Source shipment
Recipients and locations
Licence verification
Transfer notification system
Licence amendments must be completed in direct contact with CNSC staff

9. Import/Export Controls (SSTS)
Licensee reporting (Category 1 and 2 sources)
Only isotopes/activity identified on the licence are permitted
System verification
Import:
No system validation of details
Export:
Combination of manual and system verification

10. National Sealed Source Registry
Accurate, secure inventory (category 1 and 2)
up-to-date tracking
Category 3, 4 and 5 reported annually
separate system

11. On site verification CNSC inspectors verify licensee’s inventory
Ensure compliance with requirements to:
Use SSTS to report Category 1 and 2 source movement
Accurately report sealed source inventory, all categories
In 2016, 95% of licensees were compliant with tracking requirements

12. Data collection The CNSC takes a risk-informed approach
Category 1 and 2
Category 3, 4, 5
Real-time reporting of movement
Annual reporting, location not required
Recipient of any transfers
Record of transfers (annually and during inspections)
Manufacturer (device)
Manufacturer (device/source)
Model (device)
Model (device/source)
Serial number (device)
Serial number (device/source)
Isotope
Activity with reference date
Activity
Sealed Source Assembly

13. Statistics 94 018 sources tracked in SSTS (all categories)
sources/devices in Category 3, 4, 5 database

14. System usage by licensees
Transactions 2016

15. System usage by licensees
Online system implementation

16. System upgrade New features to SSTS:
Adding reprocessing and re-encapsulating of sources
Adding an inactive status
Consolidating categories 3, 4, 5 with categories 1 and 2
manual entry eliminated

17. Challenges and Lessons Learned
Keeping current with industry
Regulatory data review and analysis
Improved search capability
Independent high risk source tracking system
Data quality relies on licensee submission

18. Recap Canada maintains inventory of sealed sources
National Sealed Source Registry (NSSR)
Sealed Source Tracking System populates NSSR with Category 1 & 2 source information
Category 3, 4, 5 sources annual reporting
Verification during inspections
Working to continuously improve the systems

19. Participate and Contribute!