Lettuce Wrap – About Food and Stuff

by:  Lettuce Wrap 

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has announced that its Board has approved – in principle – the need for an epidemiological study of possible adverse health effects from high staticfield Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines.

The announcement follows a report to the Board from the Agency’s independent Advisory Croup on Non-ionizing Radiation (ACNIR) which made a number of recommendations on new areas for research.  The view that more research is needed on the effects of being exposed to MRI is shared by the World Health Organization.

MRI was first developed 30 years ago as an aid to medical diagnosis.  It is based on a well-established scientific technique, nuclear magnetic resonance, which uses the interaction of magnetic fields with the spin of the nuclei of atoms to provide detailed information on the constituents of chemicals and biological materials.  People are exposed to high magnetic fields in industry and elsewhere, but MRI produces the highest magnetic fields in use today, thus, the need for a study of people who regularly work with the machines. 

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