Update, June 2006
The House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology released their report Watching the Directives: scientific advice on the EU Physical Agents (Electromagnetic Fields) Directive, as part of their enquiry into how the Government handles scientific advice, risk and evidence, on Thursday 29 June 2006.
You can view the report online here or download the report here (pdf, 2.3 mb).
The executive summary states:
The Committee has discovered failings in the way that scientific advice was used to inform the EU Physical Agents (Electromagnetic Fields) Directive, both in Brussels and in the UK. We found that the Commission was heavily reliant on one source of advice, the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), and was not sufficiently responsive to concerns raised by the magnetic resonance community. As a result, it is deeply regrettable that the research necessary to establish whether or not the Directive will inhibit the use of MRI scanners is only now being carried out, with a risk that it will not be complete in time to inform the implementation of the Directive, due by 2008. On the basis of the level of certainty in the available scientific evidence, we agree with the Government that there was not a strong enough case for a Directive covering MRI: existing guidelines are sufficient.
In the UK, we identify serious failings in the consultation process. In particular, we are critical of the highly disappointing response of the Health and Safety Executive and the Health Protection Agency to the concerns expressed by the magnetic resonance community about the potential impact of the Directive. This response was characterised by an instinctive and dismissive resistance rather than an attempt to engage and examine. We also find it extremely worrying that the Health and Safety Executive was giving information on its policy in the UK that was in flat contradiction to the line it had been pursuing in negotiations in Brussels.
Last updated: November 23 2006