Norwegian Radiation Chairman Protests Pending Ban of MRI in European Union

EU Directive 2004/40/EC Effectively Halts Use of MRI in All EU Member States

Professor Dag Rune Olsen, a Norwegian scientist, told a press conference at the European Cancer Conference (ECCO) that implementation of the Physical Agents (Electromagnetic Fields) Directive in all EU Member States could effectively halt the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which is an important tool in cancer diagnosis, treatment, and research [the Physical Agents (Electromagnetic Fields) Directive 2004/40/EC].

Professor Dag Rune Olsen told the ECC: "Since the Directive sets limits to occupational radiation exposure [that] will mean that anyone working or moving near MRI equipment will breach them, thus making it possible for them to sue their employers. Even those maintaining or servicing the equipment may be affected." Professor Olsen works in experimental radiation therapy at the Norwegian Radiation Hospital, Oslo, Norway, and is chairman of the physics committee of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

A conflicting British study into operator exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) from MRI was published by the Heath and Safety Executive (HSE) in June 2007 and carried out by Professor Stuart Crozier from Brisbane University, Australia. The study found that anyone standing within about one meter of an MRI scanner while it was in use would breach the exposure limits laid down in the EU Directive.

The EU Commission has acknowledged the correctness of the HSE study and said that it will consider the HSE report together with a study it has commissioned itself, due for publication in October 2007, when deciding whether and how to propose amendments to the directive or whether to extend the directive implementation period.

"But they may already be too late," said Professor Olsen. "Slovakia has already implemented the Directive, on the grounds that it was based on the assumption that the limits which it sets would have no effect [on the MRI ban]. This would appear to mean that it is now illegal to carry out MRI scanning in the country."