Radiation Safety Institute of Canada

[Grant Cubbon <gcubbon@cairs.ca>]

N E W S  R E L E A S E!

	R A D I A T I O N   S A F E T Y  I N S T I T U T E 
	                    OF  CANADA

TORONTO and SASKATOON, Canada, May 31, 1998-

The Radiation Safety Institute of Canada is the new name for Canada's
independent, national institute for radiation safety. (It was formerly known
as CAIRS, the Canadian Institute for Radiation Safety.) 

The announcement was made today by Fergal Nolan, President of the Institute,
at the annual convention of the Canadian Radiation Protection Association
(CRPA) in Saskatoon. Formal approval of the change was given recently by the
Government of Canada under the Canada Corporations Act.     

Founded in 1980, the Radiation Safety Institute is Canada's national
institute for radiation safety. An independent, not-for-profit corporation,
its purpose is to promote, and to assist in advancing, radiation safety at
work, at home, at school and  in the environment. 

"Few Canadians realize that radioactive sources and materials are now  in
widespread use in Canadian society", Nolan says.

"The same is true for all modern industrial societies. These valuable,
high-tech 'radiation tools' are now common not only in the health care and
energy sectors of our society," Nolan says, "but in almost every industry in
Canada. And their use is increasing every year. Radiation safety, therefore,
is an increasingly significant component of general occupational health and
safety in Canadian workplaces". 

The Radiation Safety Institute aims to become known across Canada as an
independent source of impartial information and expert assistance on
radiation safety in the workplace. 

The name change, Nolan says, is to help make the Institute more visible and
more accessible to Canadians. The change is only one outcome of an on-going
review. "We are re-charging the batteries ", he says, "and re-thinking our
approach to better assist Canadians to meet the radiation safety
requirements of the new millennium."

The Institute provides a range of radiation safety services to a wide
variety of clients. Among these services are the first AECB certified
radiation dosimetry service in Canada and the only government certified
radon progeny and dust dosimetry services in North America. 

The Institute also acts as an independent and impartial mediator in disputes
over radiation issues and has helped bring a number of serious public and
workplace disputes to a successful and peaceful resolution. 

The head office of the Radiation Safety Institute is in Toronto. The
Institute's National Laboratories are in the Innovation Place research park
in Saskatoon.

Contact: Fergal Nolan, President Tel. 416.650.9090 x 22 e-mail:
fnolan@cairs.ca  










Grant Cubbon
Laboratory Supervisor
Radiation Safety Institute of Canada
National Laboratories
102-110 Research Drive,
Saskatoon, Sask., Canada
S7N 3R3

Voice:	(306) 975-0566
Fax:	(306) 975-0494
email:	gcubbon@cairs.ca

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