Federal Communications Commission FCC 19-126 Before
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Federal Communications Commission FCC 19-126 Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Proposed Changes in the Commission’s Rules ) ET Docket No. 03-137 Regarding Human Exposure to Radiofrequency ) (Terminated) Electromagnetic Fields ) ) Reassessment of Federal Communications ) ET Docket No. 13-84 Commission Radiofrequency Exposure Limits and ) (Terminated) Policies ) ) Targeted Changes to the Commission’s Rules ) ET Docket No. 19-226 Regarding Human Exposure to Radiofrequency ) Electromagnetic Fields ) RESOLUTION OF NOTICE OF INQUIRY, SECOND REPORT AND ORDER, NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING, AND MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Adopted: November 27, 2019 Released: December 4, 2019 Comment Date: [30 days from publication in the Federal Register] Reply Comment Date: [60 days from publication in the Federal Register] By the Commission: Commissioner Rosenworcel concurring. TABLE OF CONTENTS Heading Paragraph # I. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................................1 II. BACKGROUND.....................................................................................................................................6 III. RESOLUTION OF NOTICE OF INQUIRY ........................................................................................10 IV. SECOND REPORT AND ORDER.......................................................................................................17 A. Exemptions from the RF Exposure Evaluation Requirement.........................................................20 1. Exemption Criteria - Single RF Source....................................................................................35 a. 1-mW Blanket Exemption .................................................................................................36 b. SAR-Based Exemption ......................................................................................................42 c. MPE-Based Exemption......................................................................................................48 2. Exemption Criteria - Multiple RF Sources...............................................................................55 a. 1-mW Exemption...............................................................................................................56 b. Use of Summation Formulas .............................................................................................57 (i) Multiple RF Sources with Fixed Physical Relationship..............................................58 (ii) RF Sources without Fixed Physical Relationships......................................................66 B. Environmental Evaluation ..............................................................................................................69 1. Consistency in Usage of Any Valid Method for SAR Computation .......................................71 2. Removal of Minimum Evaluation Distance Requirement from Rules for Frequencies above 6 GHz.............................................................................................................................73 Federal Communications Commission FCC 19-126 3. Technical Evaluation References in Rules...............................................................................74 C. Mitigation Measures to Ensure Compliance with Exposure Limits ...............................................80 1. Transient Exposure...................................................................................................................82 2. Signage and Access Control.....................................................................................................89 3. Training to Ensure Compliance..............................................................................................104 4. Responsibility for Mitigation Measures .................................................................................107 D. Transition Periods .........................................................................................................................115 E. Conforming Edits..........................................................................................................................118 V. NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING .......................................................................................119 A. Extension of Exposure Limits to Additional Frequencies ............................................................122 1. Localized Exposure Limit for Higher Frequencies ................................................................127 2. Averaging Area for Higher Frequencies ................................................................................129 B. Transmitter-Based and Device-Based Time-Averaging...............................................................131 C. Wireless Power Transfer Devices.................................................................................................137 VI. MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER ...................................................................................148 VII. PROCEDURAL MATTERS.............................................................................................................155 VIII. ORDERING CLAUSES ...............................................................................................................165 APPENDIX A – Final Rules APPENDIX B – Proposed Rules APPENDIX C – Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis APPENDIX D – Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis APPENDIX E – List of Commenters to 2013 RF Order and Further Notice I. INTRODUCTION 1. Modern communications technologies are an ever-increasingly critical part of our everyday lives and play a vital role in the execution of our businesses and daily affairs. The number and types of radiofrequency (RF) devices have proliferated, and the ways we interact with them are continuously changing. As a result, our environment is populated with RF sources, at times located in close proximity to humans. The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) requires the Commission to evaluate the effects of our actions on the quality of the human environment, including human exposure to RF energy emitted by Commission-regulated transmitters and facilities.1 The Commission has accordingly promulgated rules that set limits for RF exposure and, through the years, has created a framework to ensure compliance with these limits. Today, we take a number of steps regarding these limits to ensure the health and safety of workers and consumers of wireless technology, while also clarifying and streamlining rules to reduce regulatory burdens on licensees. 2. First, we resolve a Notice of Inquiry that sought public input on, among other issues, whether the Commission should amend its existing RF emission exposure limits.2 After reviewing the extensive record submitted in response to that inquiry, we find no appropriate basis for and thus decline to propose amendments to our existing limits at this time. We take to heart the findings of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), an expert agency regarding the health impacts of consumer products, that “[t]he weight of scientific evidence has not linked cell phones with any health problems.”3 Despite requests 1 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, (NEPA) 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321-4335; Proposed Changes in the Commission's Rules Regarding Human Exposure to Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields, ET Docket No. 03- 137, First Report and Order, Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and Notice of Inquiry, 28 FCC Rcd 3498, 3503, para. 10 (2013) (hereinafter 2013 RF Order and Notice); see also 47 CFR § 1.1307(b). 2 See generally infra Section III. 3 U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Do cell phones pose a health hazard?, https://www.fda.gov/Radiation- EmittingProducts/RadiationEmittingProductsandProcedures/HomeBusinessandEntertainment/CellPhones/ucm11628 2.htm (last updated Dec. 4, 2017). 2 Federal Communications Commission FCC 19-126 from some to increase and others to decrease the existing limits, we believe they reflect the best available information concerning safe levels of RF exposure for workers and members of the general public, including inputs from our sister federal agencies charged with regulating safety and health and from well- established international standards. 3. Second, based on our existing limits, we revise our implementing rules to reflect modern technology and today’s uses. We streamline our criteria for determining when a licensee is exempt from our RF exposure evaluation criteria, replacing our prior regime of service-based exemptions with a set of formulas for situations in which the risk of excessive RF exposure is minimal. For those licensees who do not qualify for an exemption, we provide more flexibility for licensees to establish compliance with our RF exposure limits. And we specify methods that RF equipment operators can use to mitigate the risk of excess exposure, both to members of the public and trained workers (such as training, supervision, and signage). 4. Third, we notice further targeted proposals on the application of our RF emission exposure limits for future uses of wireless technologies. Specifically, we propose to formalize an additional limit for localized RF exposure and the associated methodology for compliance for portable devices operating at high frequencies (gigahertz (GHz) frequencies). on top of our already existing limits that apply at these frequencies,