The European Directive on health protection of individuals against the dangers of ionising radiation in relation to medical exposures (97/43/EURATOM)

On 30 June 1997 the Council of Ministers approved the Directive on the Health Protection of Individuals in relation to Medical Exposures (MED) (97/43/EURATOM). This MED must be implemented in national law no later than 13 May 2000, repealing at that time Directive 84/466/EURATOM, the so-called 'Patient Directive'. It complements the Basic Safety Standards Directive of 1996 (96/29/EURATOM) as regards medical exposures, which comes into force at the same date. The MED considerably extends the scope of application from exposures of patients to all exposures directly or indirectly related to medical uses of ionising radiation. The MED reaffirms the objectives of the 1984 Directive - to aim at optimum diagnostic efficacy at reasonable dose to the patient and to reduce the number of unnecessary and inadequate exposures - but also strengthens most of its requirements as a result of the experience gained with its implementation and, at the same time, adds new provisions considered important taking into account scientific and technical evolution in the radiological field. In particular those exposures where there is no direct health benefit for the person undergoing the exposure and exposures at great risk are given special attention. With the aim of facilitating the implementation of the MED in national legislation the European Commission, with the help of the group of experts established under article 31 of the EURATOM Treaty, will produce technical guidelines with further explanation on some of the requirements of the MED. (author)