Public health: protection of individuals against ionizing radiation in medical exposures (repl. Direct. 84/466/Euratom)

Having pointed out that the number of medical exposures had increased enormously in recent years, the rapporteur welcomed this proposal which, despite the difficulty of the exercise (given the rapid rate of technological progress), should be adopted as soon as possible. He also argued that exposures to ionising radiation should be kept to the strict minimum at any cost. Finally, he stressed the specific problem of pregnant women for whom he preferred ecography as the alternative examination technique. Commissioner Bjerregaard said that the Commission was prepared to ensure that the directive was adopted by the Council in June. She said that Amendments Nos 1, 2, 3 and 10 could be accepted. Amendments Nos 4, 5, 7 to 9 and 11 were acceptable in principle. However, Amendment No 6 was superfluous and therefore had to be rejected. Finally, Amendment No 12 could not be accepted due to a lack of clarity.