Dear colleagues

You may be relieved to read the following

----------- A controversial European Union law that potentially could threaten the use of MRI in research laboratories and medical clinics will be overhauled, clearing the way for the technology to continue being used across Europe, according to an accord announced last week by EU officials.

Speaking at a September 29 reception at the European Parliament in Brussels, László Andor, EU commissioner for employment, social affairs, and inclusion, said the European Commission would formally propose a revision to the 2004 EU directive limiting workers' exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) before the end of the year, known informally as the EMF Directive. The revision will effectively exclude MRI scanners from the scope of the directive by removing exposure restrictions on the technology.

"We are very close to proposing a win-win solution," Andor told the reception, organized by the Alliance for MRI advocacy group. "No binding exposure limits will be imposed on MRI."

Andor said the move came after long discussions between the European Commission and the Alliance for MRI, as well as research into the potential dangers of radiation exposure from the scanners. The Alliance for MRI argued that MRI had been in use for more than 25 years, imaging up to 500 million patients without evidence of harm to workers due to EMF exposure.

Although MRI magnets can affect metal objects, the Alliance for MRI said the scanners are free from most health risks associated with ionizing radiation such as x-rays. Andor said the European Commission eventually reached the same conclusion. "New scientific studies have not indicated any harmful effects from MRIs," he said.

However, the revision would be accompanied by new qualitative measures for healthcare workers, covering procedures governing access to examination rooms, training tools, and the dissemination of best practices, Andor said.

The Physical Agents (Electromagnetic Field) 2004/40/EC directive was formally approved by the EU in 2004, with a four-year deadline for implementation. It was originally designed to address health risks for those working in the electrical power and telecommunication industries.

However, the EMF Directive quickly came under fire for its potential unintended consequences, and in April 2008, just one week before it was due to be come into effect, the implementation deadline was set back a further four years to April 2012.

Some insiders blamed the entire affair on a bureaucratic bungle: The directive was initially created as a worker safety measure and overseen by the European Commission's Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs, and Equal Opportunities; the Commission's Directorate General for Health and Consumers was sidelined during the entire legislative process. ----------------

So keep planning those MRI experiments!

Gary