MRI legislation postponed
29 October 2007
The EU Physical Agents (Electromagnetic Fields) Directive - approved by the Commission in 2004 - was intended to protect the health and safety of workers exposed to electromagnetic fields. However, by preventing researchers from standing close to a magnetic resonance machine during scans, the legislation could seriously limit the use of MRI for research, diagnosis and treatment.
The Wellcome Trust has worked with its research community, other funders, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the UK Government to draw attention to the threats. For example, in 2006 Professor Ray Dolan, Director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at University College London, gave evidence on behalf of the Trust to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee.
A Trust survey also found that many researchers who use MRI need to be within 1 m of the magnet when it is working, potentially exceeding the Directive's limits. Restrictions would prevent interventional MRI, limit the provision of patient care and restrict researchers from reaching into the magnet (for example, to position and check equipment).
The good news is that the advocacy work appears to have had a result. The European Commission announced on Friday 26 October that it will postpone implementation of the Directive for four years, allowing time to review recent evidence and prepare a "substantive amendment" to the Directive.
EU Directives are very rarely postponed; the Trust is delighted with this outcome, and will continue to work with the HSE, the UK Government and the EU to ensure that the revised draft takes into account the concerns of the MRI community.
