Radiation safety codes

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• Overview
• Safety codes

Overview

Safety codes are a series of documents prepared by Health Canada that provide radiation protection information. They help promote consistent radiation protection practices to support the safe installation and use of radiation emitting devices in Canada.

Some Health Canada safety codes are referenced in regulations, standards and policies of federal, provincial and territorial authorities. For example:

• some provincial occupational safety legislation
• the Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (Part X), which apply to workplaces under federal jurisdiction

Compliance with safety codes is not a requirement under the Radiation Emitting Devices Act or its regulations.

Depending on the jurisdiction, provincial and territorial legislation or professional orders and associations may establish requirements relating to:

• safely installing and using radiation emitting devices
• protocols and safety requirements for operators of radiation emitting devices
• who can perform specific actions or fulfil the roles and responsibilities outlined in a given safety code

The authority responsible for administering a regulation, standard or policy that references a safety code may also establish:

• compliance monitoring activities
• enforcement activities

Health Canada does not monitor or enforce compliance with safety codes.

Safety codes

Radiofrequency exposure

• Safety Code 6: Limits of human exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic energy in the frequency range from 3 kHz to 300 GHz (2015)
  • Technical guide for Safety Code 6: Health Canada's radiofrequency exposure guidelines
  • Notice: Localized human exposure limits for radiofrequency fields in the range of 6 GHz to 300 GHz
  • Understanding Safety Code 6: Health Canada's radiofrequency exposure guidelines

Archived

• ARCHIVED - Guidelines For Limiting Radiofrequency Exposure - Short Wave Diathermy - Safety Code 25

Ultrasound

• Guidelines for the safe use of ultrasound: Part I - Medical and paramedical applications (excerpt from Safety Code 23, 1989)
• Safety Code 24: Guidelines for the safe use of ultrasound: Part II - Industrial and commercial applications (1991)
• Guidelines for the safe use of diagnostic ultrasound (2001)

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Archived

• ARCHIVED - Safety Code 26: Guidelines on Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields from Magnetic Resonance Clinical Systems (1987)

Non-medical X-ray

• Safety Code 28: Radiation protection in veterinary medicine - Recommended safety procedures for installation and use of veterinary X-ray equipment (1991)
• Safety Code 29: Requirements for the safe use of baggage X-ray inspection systems (1993)
• Safety Code 32: Safety requirements and guidance for analytical X-ray equipment (1994)
  • Addendum to Safety Code 32: Portable, hand-held, X-ray tube-based open-beam XRF devices
• Safety Code 34: Radiation protection and safety for industrial X-ray equipment(2003)

Medical and dental X-ray

• Safety Code 30: Radiation protection in dentistry - Recommended safety procedures for the use of dental X-ray equipment (2022)
• Safety Code 35: Safety Procedures for the Installation, Use and Control of X-ray Equipment in Large Medical Radiological Facilities (2024)
• Safety Code 36: Radiation protection and quality standards in mammography - Safety procedures for the installation, use and control of mammographic X-ray equipment

Archived

• ARCHIVED – X-ray equipment in medical diagnosis Part A: recommended safety procedures for installation and use – Safety Code 20A
• ARCHIVED - Safety Code 30: Radiation Protection in Dentistry (1999)
• ARCHIVED - Safety Code 35: Safety procedures for the installation, use and control of X-ray equipment in large medical radiological facilities (2008)