Radiation Facility FAQs

All dental facilities must develop and maintain an effective Quality Assurance Program. In dental radiography, a quality assurance program is defined as the planned and organized actions necessary to provide adequate confidence that dental X-ray equipment and related components reliably produce quality radiographs with minimum doses to patients and staff. A Quality Assurance program includes quality control procedures for the monitoring and testing of dental X-ray equipment and related components, and administrative procedures to ensure that monitoring, evaluation and corrective actions are properly performed. The owner or employer of a dental facility has the responsibility of establishing a quality assurance program.

A Code of Practice must be available that provides information to workers and other persons concerning the safe operation of radiation facilities and radiation equipment, including practical guidance on the regulations, safe working procedures, safe operating procedures, and actions to be taken in emergency situations.

Registration is required in the following situations:

• • Installation of equipment in a new or existing dental facility regardless of how the equipment was obtained (purchased, leased, gift), or how old the equipment is (new or resale).
  • Relocation within the facility, or to another facility.
  • Modification of the characteristics of the radiation emitted from the equipment or the protective properties of the facility. Note: shielding calculations are based in part on the occupancy of adjacent rooms. If a facility is redesigned and the walls are not altered but the occupancy changes (i.e. storage room becomes waiting room), registration of the equipment is still required.
  • Every five years after the original registration of the equipment, with a full compliance inspection.

The process to register the facility radiation equipment is as follows:

• • Order the equipment from your supplier and confirm the installation date.
  • Contact an Authorized Radiation Protection Inspection Agency to book the inspection date.*Note: This date must be within 15-days of installation and equipment cannot be used without registration.
  • The facility owner completes an ‘Application for Registration of Designated Radiation Equipment’ on the CDSA Radiation Health and Safety Program *Note: The installation date and equipment information is required to complete this form.
  • The CDSA/ADA&C Radiation Health and Safety Program will process the inspection report and application form. The CDSA will then send the facility contact email address a ‘Confirmation of Equipment’ form along with a request for proof of dosimetry. Proof of dosimetry typically consists of an exposure report or invoice for your badges.
  • Once the CDSA Radiation Health and Safety Program receives the ‘Confirmation of Equipment’ and proof of dosimetry, a registration certificate will be printed and mailed directly to the facility.
  • The facility receives the registration certificate and ensures that is it visibly displayed in the facility to comply with OHS code requirements.

Registration can only be completed by submitting the inspection report and application form to the CDSA Radiation Health and Safety Program. The process is the same for 5 year renewals, new, replaced equipment, or equipment that was moved for renovations and reinstalled.

The choice is up to the facility. The CDSA encourages you to inspect all equipment at once to stay on one (1) schedule whenever possible.

There are multiple inspectors in Northern and Southern Alberta approved by the Alberta Government. These can be found at https://www.alberta.ca/radiation-agencies.aspx

All facilities will receive a $150 invoice for the current registration period. The Radiation Health and Safety Program is run on a cost-recovery basis and is invoiced on a biennial timeline. The CSDA Council reviews this program annually and determines the cost of the program for the upcoming year.

The Occupational Health and Safety Code states in Section 291.7 (1):

“An employer must ensure that no worker operates designated radiation equipment unless a registration certificate has been issued by an authorized radiation health registration agency or by a Director for that equipment.”

A registration certificate can only be issued by the Radiation Health and Safety Program upon receipt of:

• • Completed application form.
  • Receipt of compliant inspection report from an Authorized Radiation Protection Inspection Agency:
    • If an inspection report is older than 6 months, we are unable to process it, and you will be required to have another inspection completed.

A reprint for a missing/damaged registration certificate can be requested by emailing Radiation@cdsab.ca

Any regulated member of the CDSA can own CBCT equipment. The facility owner must have a compliance inspection completed and register the equipment with the CDSA. The facility owner is also responsible for the proper installation of hardware and software, registration and operation of the unit, including education of the operators, storage of records, and a quality assurance program.

Per Health Canada ‘Safety Code 30 – Radiation Protection in Dentistry’ Section B.6.0

When X-ray equipment is considered for disposal, an assessment should be made as to whether the equipment can be refurbished and/or recycled. Communication with the manufacturer or supplier of the equipment should be made as to whether the equipment or components of the equipment can be recycled or returned. Once the decision has been made to dispose of X-ray equipment, an assessment must be made to determine if any equipment components contain hazardous materials.

An assessment should include the following:

1. Contact the manufacturer or supplier of the equipment to determine if the equipment or components of the equipment can be recycled or returned.
2. If the equipment contains any patient information, this information must be fully removed.

It is strongly recommended that disposal of X-ray equipment be delegated to an X-ray service provider that specializes in the disposal of such systems. Safe work practices during disposal must be used so that workers are not exposed to hazards.

The following disposal actions are recommended:

1. The X-ray tube window should be examined to determine whether or not it contains beryllium, and if it does, special disposal procedures must be applied since beryllium presents a toxic ingestion or inhalation hazard;
2. The transformer oil must be disposed of in accordance with any applicable federal, provincial or territorial environmental legislation and lead must be recycled accordingly;
3. To ensure that the equipment is not unsafely operated after disposal, the equipment must be made inoperable before disposing. The vacuum in the X-ray tube must be breached, and the cables that power the equipment and other electrical connections should be disconnected and disposed of separately.

A Dental Facility must register, utilize, and monitor its own dosimeter program through an approved dosimetry service provider licensed by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. The currently approved companies are Health Canada, Landauer and Mirion Technologies.

All operators of Dental X-Ray Equipment and personal who routinely participate in radiation procedures must wear personal dosimeters. This includes operators of a Hand-Held Dental X-ray Device.

Each personal dosimetry registered within a Dental Facility must remain at that one facility and must not be used or transferred to another facility. Each personal Dosimetry is to be assigned to one person and must not be shared.

All personal Dosimetry records must be maintained for the lifetime of the facility.

Bill 47 Ensuring Safety and Cutting Red Tape Act 2020 amended the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS) Act and OHS Codes to incorporate Alberta’s radiation protection laws. On December 1, 2021 the new OHS Act and OHS Codes were proclaimed and the Radiation Protection Act and Regulation were repealed.

Each facility needs to follow the Occupational Health and Safety Act and Occupational Health and Safety Code. The government of Alberta delegates authority to the CDSA to ensure all facilities are OHS complaint.

• The CDSA continues as an Authorized Radiation Health Registration Agency, designated with certain roles and responsibilities under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
• The CDSA is no longer allowed to accept inspection reports older than 6 months.