[TowerTalk] FCC RF Safety Regs Info Sept 1

[Fred Hopengarten]

Is amateur radio exempt from local health and safety regulation of RF
exposure?

No.  In the amateur radio section of the FCC’s Report and Order, FCC
96-326, August 1, 1996, paragraphs 164-168, the FCC decided:

164. . . . To date the Commission has declined to preempt on health and
safety matters.  However, the Commission has noted that should
non-Federal RF radiation standards be adopted that adversely affect a
licensee’s ability to engage in Commission-authorized activities, the
Commission would consider reconsidering whether Federal action is
necessary.

. . . 

167. . . . At this point, it does not appear that the number of instances
of state and local regulation of RF emissions in non-personal wireless
services situations is large enough to justify considering whether or not
they should be preempted.

. . . 

168. . . . Once states and localities have had an opportunity to review
and analyze the guidelines we are adopting, we expect they will agree
that no further state or local regulation is warranted. 

The complete text of the Report and Order is available in the ARRL book,
RF Exposure and You, by Ed Hare W1RFI, or from the FCC web site,
http://www.fcc.gov/

Thus, while amateurs are not exempt from state or local regulation, if
you run into a situation where a municipality attempts to regulate your
operations on the basis of power output, please make it known to
volunteer counsel and the ARRL Regulatory Affairs Department. 

If you are seriously concerned about this issue and do not wish to rely
on the Federal regulation (though you would be perfectly correct to rely
on the Federal regulation), you may obtain a letter from a Professional
Engineer.  K1NU has prepared such a letter on several occasions (note: 
There is a charge for this service).

If you are pressured to show conformance with a state law, try a letter
similar to the one below.

							Date, 2000

Mr. xxxxxx xxxxxxx
Health Agent, Town of xxxxxxx
Town Office Building
Town, MA
			
Dear Mr. xxxxxxx:

	You have asked if 105 CMR 122: NONIONIZING RADIATION LIMITS FOR THE
GENERAL PUBLIC FROM NON-OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE TO ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS,
EMPLOYEES FROM OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE TO ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS, AND
EXPOSURE FROM MICROWAVE OVENS is applicable to a proposed amateur radio
tower owned and operated by (name of a good guy).

	The short answer is that, as "amateur intermittent single source
emitters of less than 1 kW average output" may be installed "without the
approval of the Director", no filing or approval is necessary.  See 105
CMR 122.021.

	Mr. Good Guy does not propose, nor does he use at present, an emitter
which exceeds that threshold.  He is thus exempt.

	In the interest of putting any concern to rest, I am pleased to explain
why amateurs in Massachusetts do not make filings seeking approval of the
Director of the Department of Public Health.

	The maximum permissible power of an amateur radio station is 1500 watts
output.  The Massachusetts regulation (consistent with the FCC
regulation) measures "average values over any 0.5 hour period" (see
footnote to 105 CMR 122.015: Table 1).  So if we calculate power on the
basis of 50% transmitting, and 50% listening, and assume the worst case
over that half hour, that would be 10 minutes on, 10 minutes off, and 10
minutes on.  That would represent 67% of the time period.  This is, by
the way, exactly how the FCC makes such a calculation.  See "Evaluating
Compliance with FCC Guidelines for Human Exposure to Radiofrequency
Electromagnetic Fields, Additional Information for Amateur Radio
Stations", Supplement B (Edition 97-01) to OET Bulletin 65 (Edition
97-01), page 13.

www.fcc.gov/oet/info/documents/bulletins/#65

	In addition, it is appropriate (and again the FCC also uses this
technique), to calculate average power by using a duty cycle of 40-50%
for single sideband voice or Morse Code CW (more properly:  interrupted
continuous wave) transmissions.  See "Evaluating Compliance . . . ",
supra, Table 2, page 14.

	The calculation is: 1500 x .6666666 x .50 = 500 watts.

	Thus, under the Massachusetts regulation, an amateur emitter with an
average of about 500 watts is clearly not required to seek approval of
the Director of the Department of Public Health.

	The precise answer you seek is that, like all citizens, Mr. Good Guy is
subject to the requirements of 105 CMR 122, but the regulation does not
require him to make any filings, nor seek any permissions, from either
the Director of the Department of Public Health or a town health agent.

							Sincerely,


							Fred Hopengarten
							Attorney for Mr. Good Guy


Fred Hopengarten K1VR                        
hopengarten@post.harvard.edu
Six Willarch Road * Lincoln, MA 01773-5105
781/259-0088 *eFax 419/858-2421

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