Answer to Question #201 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Q

Are there any publications on the Canadian safety regulations and procedures regarding the construction of a radiation therapy room (for both ⁶⁰Co and linac )?

A

There isn't much that is helpful in the Canadian literature. The only publication I have is an old one--1974, Installation and Safety procedures for the Use of X-Rays in Medical Therapy - Radiation Protection Bureau Safety Code 10. This is not listed on the Health Canada Web site and there is not an update listed. It is very similar in format to the NCRP documents on the same topic (e.g., NCRP 49) and is missing a lot of information. For example, there is only one paragraph on neutron shielding. Other related and current documents are "AECB Consultative Document 125 - Guide for the Preparation of Medical Accelerator Licence Applications" (1994) and "C-120 A Guide for Approval of Cobalt Teletherapy Installations" (1990). Both of these documents were written to advise licensees on content of applications for new installations. The documents do contain information about shielding calculations and other design criteria. Most Canadian medical physicists use the most recent NCRP documents; e.g., #102 and #51 for bunker design.

Peter O'Brien
Chief Physicist and Head of the Department of Medical Physics at Sunnybrook Cancer Care Centre, Toronto