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The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exposure environment is unique due to the mixture and intensity of magnetic fields involved. Current safety regulations are based on well-known acute effects of heating and neuroexcitation while the scientific grounds for possible long-term effects from MRI exposure are lacking. Epidemiological research requires careful exposure characterization, and as a first step toward improved exposure assessment we set out to characterize the MRI-patient exposure environment. Seven MRI sequences were run on a 3-Tesla scanner while the radiofrequency and gradient magnetic fields were measured inside the scanner bore. The sequences were compared in terms of 14 different exposure parameters. To study within-sequence variability, we varied sequence settings such as flip angle and slice thickness one at a time, to determine if they had any impact on exposure endpoints. There were significant differences between two or more sequences for all fourteen exposure parameters. Within-sequence differences were up to 60% of the corresponding between-sequence differences, and a 5-8 fold exposure increase was caused by variations in flip angle, slice spacing, and field of view. MRI exposure is therefore not only sequence-specific but also patient- and examination occurrence-specific, a complexity that requires careful consideration for an MRI exposure assessment in epidemiological studies to be meaningful. Bioelectromagnetics. 40:3-15, 2019. © 2018 The Authors. Bioelectromagnetics Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc., (© 2018 The Authors. Bioelectromagnetics Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)