Update from the ESR
1. EU Council approves postponement of EU Directive 2. European Commission publishes study into exposure to electromagnetic fields from MRI 3. Member states: current status 4. Forthcoming meeting of the Alliance for MRI: Monday 30th June, Brussels
1. European Council approved postponement of EU Directive on electromagnetic fields to protect MRI to April 30, 2012
The European Council has now approved the delay in the transposition deadline of the Physical Agents (EMF) Directive 2004/40/EC. The deadline is now April 30, 2012, replacing the original deadline of April 30, 2008.
The decision to postpone the Directive has been largely based on the results of the Crozier Study, commissioned by the UK Health and Safety Executive, to calculate and measure worker exposure around MRI equipment. The results demonstrated that the exposure limits in the Directive are definitely exceeded in a variety of MRI work situations, and possibly in all situations.
Although the delay is a substantial step forward into the right direction and unprecedented in EU history, we are now at the beginning of a new stage in the campaign: the dialogue with the European Commission about a substantive amendment of the Directive in order to eliminate the threat posed to MRI.
Prior to a proposal being adopted, the European Commission will be undertaking a comprehensive impact assessment of the Directive and a broad stakeholder consultation. It will be important that members of the Alliance contribute to this process to ensure that mistakes are not repeated. The results are likely to be available in 2009. The European Commission will be consulting with member state, trade union and employer representatives in the formulation of the revised Directive.
2. EU MRI exposure report
The European Commission has now published the report entitled “An Investigation into Occupational Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields for Personnel Working With and Around Medical Magnetic Resonance Imaging Equipment". The findings largely conform with the outcome of the Crozier study when the same situations were modelled. In addition, actual MR procedures were looked at and practical situations identified in which the exposure limits are exceeded. As predicted by the Alliance, these include cases in which healthcare professionals provide clinical care to patients during imaging, and also all applications of interventional MRI. This is a new but rapidly-developing field in which diagnostic or therapeutic procedures are guided by MRI rather than x-rays, providing demonstrable clinical benefits and eliminating harmful ionising radiation exposure from x-rays.
The Commission is now waiting for new advice on EMF exposure from ICNIRP. It is likely that the substantively amended Directive will incorporate this new advice, but it remains to be seen whether this will solve all the problems for MRI.
The report can be found at the Alliance for MRI website at
http://www.myesr.org/cms/website.php?id=/en/research/Alliance-for-MRI/background-dokumentation.htm
3. Transposition in Member States
The EMF Directive been transposed in a number of member states, including Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Austria, and Italy. In Italy the Parliament has just recently voted on a national postponement of the legislation.
This is a significant point of concern, as the postponement of the Directive at EU level does not suspend the application of national regulations. Although the transposition deadline has been changed, the Directive and its original exposure limits remain in place, and member state governments are free to transpose into national law at any time.
4. Meeting of the Alliance for MRI
The Alliance for MRI will be holding a meeting in Brussels on June 30 in order to define its future strategy. Participation is welcomed from interested members. Please contact Monika Hierath at the Alliance Secretariat for more details.
Contact:
Ms. Monika Hierath
Alliance for MRI Secretariat
European Society of Radiology
Neutorgasse 9, AT-1010 Vienna
Phone: +43 1 533 40 64 – 20
Fax: +43 1 535 70 41
monika.hierath@myESR.org
Last updated: Wednesday, January 13, 2010