[CW] Updated Radio Frequency Exposure Rules Become Effective on May 3

[D.J.J. Ring, Jr.]

Updated Radio Frequency Exposure Rules Become Effective on May 3
<http://www.arrl.org/news/updated-radio-frequency-exposure-rules-become-effective-on-may-3>

SEE ATTACHMENT

04/12/2021

The FCC has announced that rule changes detailed in a lengthy 2019 *Report
and Order <https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-19-126A1.pdf>* governing
RF exposure standards go into effect on May 3, 2021. The new rules do not
change existing RF exposure (RFE) limits but do require that stations in
all services, including amateur radio, be evaluated against existing
limits, unless they are exempted. For stations already in place, that
evaluation must be completed by May 3, 2023. After May 3 of this year, any
new station, or any existing station modified in a way that’s likely to
change its RFE profile — such as different antenna or placement or greater
power — will need to conduct an evaluation by the date of activation or
change.

“In the RF *Report and Order*, the Commission anticipated that few parties
would have to conduct reevaluations under the new rules and that such
evaluations will be relatively straightforward,” the FCC said in an
April 2 *Public
Notice*. “It nevertheless adopted a 2-year period for parties to verify and
ensure compliance under the new rules.”

The Amateur Service is no longer categorically excluded from certain
aspects of the rules, as amended, and licensees can no longer avoid
performing an exposure assessment simply because they are transmitting
below a given power level.

“For most amateurs, the major difference is the removal of the categorical
exclusion for amateur radio, which means that ham station owners must
determine if they either qualify for an exemption or must perform a routine
environmental evaluation,” said Greg Lapin, N9GL, chair of the ARRL RF
Safety Committee and a member of the FCC Technological Advisory Council
(TAC).

“Ham stations previously excluded from performing environmental evaluations
will have until May 3, 2023, to perform these. After May 3, 2021, any new
stations or those modified in a way that affects RF exposure must comply
before being put into service,” Lapin said.

The December 2019 RF *Report and Order* changes the methods that many radio
services use to determine and achieve compliance with FCC limits on human
exposure to RF electromagnetic fields. The FCC also modified the process for
determining whether a particular device or deployment is exempt from a more
thorough analysis by replacing a service-specific list of transmitters,
facilities, and operations for which evaluation is required with new
streamlined
formula-based criteria. The *R&O* also addressed how to perform evaluations
where the exemption does not apply, and how to mitigate exposure.

Amateur radio licensees will have to determine whether any existing
facilities previously excluded under the old rules now qualify for an
exemption under the new rules. Most will, but some may not.

“For amateurs, the major difference is the removal of the categorical
exclusion,” Lapin said, “which means that every ham will be required to
perform *some* sort of calculation, either to determine if they qualify for
an exemption or must perform a full-fledged exposure assessment. For hams
who previously performed exposure assessments on their stations, there is
nothing more to do.”

The ARRL Laboratory staff is available to help amateurs to make these
determinations and, if needed, perform the necessary calculations to ensure
their stations comply. ARRL Laboratory Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, who helped
prepare ARRL’s *RF Exposure and You* book, explained it this way. “The FCC
did not change any of the underlying rules applicable to amateur station
evaluations,” he said. “The sections of the book on how to perform routine
station evaluations are still valid and usable, especially the many charts
of common antennas at different heights.” Hare said ARRL Lab staff also
would be available to help amateurs understand the rules and evaluate their
stations.”

*RF Exposure and You* is *available for free download
<http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/RFsafetyCommittee/28RFSafety.pdf>*
from
ARRL. ARRL also has an *RF Safety page <http://www.arrl.org/rf-exposure>* on
its website.

The ARRL RF Safety Committee is working with the FCC to update the FCC’s
aids for following human exposure rules — *OET Bulletin 65* and *OET
Bulletin 65 Supplement B for Radio Amateurs*. In addition, ARRL is
developing tools that all hams can use to perform exposure assessments.

§ 97.13 Restrictions on station location.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(1) The licensee shall ensure compliance with the Commission's radio
frequency exposure
requirements in Sections 1.1307(b), 2.1091, and 2.1093 of this chapter,
where applicable. In lieu of
evaluation with the general population/uncontrolled exposure limits,
amateur licensees may evaluate their
operation with respect to members of his or her immediate household using
the occupational/controlled
exposure limits in Section 1.1310, provided appropriate training and
information has been accessed by the
amateur licensee and members of his/her household. RF exposure of other
nearby persons who are not
members of the amateur licensee’s household must be evaluated with respect
to the general
population/uncontrolled exposure limits. Appropriate methodologies and
guidance for evaluating
amateur radio service operation is described in the Office of Engineering
and Technology (OET) Bulletin
65, Supplement B.

*** *** ***
3. Section 1.1310 is revised to read as follows:
§ 1.1310 Radiofrequency radiation exposure limits.
(a) Specific absorption rate (SAR) shall be used to evaluate the
environmental impact of human
exposure to radiofrequency (RF) radiation as specified in Section 1.1307(b)
within the frequency range of
100 kHz to 6 GHz (inclusive).

(b) The SAR limits for occupational/controlled exposure are 0.4 W/kg, as
averaged over the whole
body, and a peak spatial-average SAR of 8 W/kg, averaged over any 1 gram of
tissue (defined as a tissue
volume in the shape of a cube). Exceptions are the parts of the human body
treated as extremities, such as
hands, wrists, feet, ankles, and pinnae, where the peak spatial-average SAR
limit for
occupational/controlled exposure is 20 W/kg, averaged over any 10 grams of
tissue (defined as a tissue
volume in the shape of a cube). Exposure may be averaged over a time period
not to exceed 6 minutes to
determine compliance with occupational/controlled SAR limits.

(c) The SAR limits for general population/uncontrolled exposure are 0.08
W/kg, as averaged over the
whole body, and a peak spatial-average SAR of 1.6 W/kg, averaged over any 1
gram of tissue (defined as a
tissue volume in the shape of a cube). Exceptions are the parts of the
human body treated as extremities,
such as hands, wrists, feet, ankles, and pinnae, where the peak
spatial-average SAR limit is 4 W/kg,
averaged over any 10 grams of tissue (defined as a tissue volume in the
shape of a cube). Exposure may be
averaged over a time period not to exceed 30 minutes to determine
compliance with general
population/uncontrolled SAR limits.

(d)(1) Evaluation with respect to the SAR limits in this section must
demonstrate compliance with both
the whole-body and peak spatial-average limits using technically supported
measurement or computational
methods and exposure conditions in advance of authorization (licensing or
equipment certification) and in
a manner that facilitates independent assessment and, if appropriate,
enforcement. Numerical computation
of SAR must be supported by adequate documentation showing that the
numerical method as implemented
in the computational software has been fully validated; in addition, the
equipment under test and exposure
conditions must be modeled according to protocols established by
FCC-accepted numerical computation
standards or available FCC procedures for the specific computational method.

(2) For operations within the frequency range of 300 kHz and 6 GHz
(inclusive), the limits for
maximum permissible exposure (MPE), derived from whole-body SAR limits and
listed in Table 1 of
paragraph (e)(1) of this section, may be used instead of whole-body SAR
limits as set forth in paragraph
(a) through (c) of this section to evaluate the environmental impact of
human exposure to RF radiation as
specified in Section 1.1307(b), except for portable devices as defined in
Section 2.1093 as these
evaluations shall be performed according to the SAR provisions in Section
2.1093 of this chapter.
Federal Communications Commission FCC 19-126
83

(3) At operating frequencies above 6 GHz, the MPE limits listed in Table 1
of paragraph (e)(1) of this
section shall be used in all cases to evaluate the environmental impact of
human exposure to RF radiation
as specified in Section 1.1307(b).

(4) Both the MPE limits listed in Table 1 of paragraph (e)(1) of this
section and the SAR limits as set
forth in paragraph (a) through (c) of this section are for continuous
exposure, that is, for indefinite time
periods. Exposure levels higher than the limits are permitted for shorter
exposure times, as long as the
average exposure over a period not more than the specified averaging time
in Table 1 is less than (or
equal to) the exposure limits. Detailed information on our policies
regarding procedures for evaluating
compliance with all of these exposure limits can be found in the most
recent edition of FCC's OET
Bulletin 65, “Evaluating Compliance with FCC Guidelines for Human Exposure
to Radiofrequency
Electromagnetic Fields,” and its supplements, all available at the FCC’s
Internet Web site:
https://www.fcc.gov/general/oet-bulletins-line, and in the Office of
Engineering and Technology (OET)
Laboratory Division Knowledge Database (KDB) (https://www.fcc.gov/kdb).
Note to Paragraphs (a) through (d): SAR is a measure of the rate of energy
absorption due to exposure
to RF electromagnetic energy. These SAR limits to be used for evaluation
are based generally on criteria
published by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for localized
SAR in Section 4.2 of “IEEE
Standard for Safety Levels with Respect to Human Exposure to Radio
Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, 3
kHz to 300 GHz,” ANSI/IEEE Std C95.1-1992, copyright 1992 by the Institute
of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers, Inc., New York, New York 10017. These criteria for
SAR evaluation are similar to
those recommended by the National Council on Radiation Protection and
Measurements (NCRP) in
“Biological Effects and Exposure Criteria for Radiofrequency
Electromagnetic Fields,” NCRP Report No.
86, Section 17.4.5, copyright 1986 by NCRP, Bethesda, Maryland 20814.
Limits for whole body SAR and
peak spatial-average SAR are based on recommendations made in both of these
documents. The MPE
limits in Table 1 are based generally on criteria published by the NCRP in
“Biological Effects and
Exposure Criteria for Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields,” NCRP Report
No. 86, Sections 17.4.1,
17.4.1.1, 17.4.2 and 17.4.3, copyright 1986 by NCRP, Bethesda, Maryland
20814. In the frequency range
from 100 MHz to 1500 MHz, these MPE exposure limits for field strength and
power density are also
generally based on criteria recommended by the ANSI in Section 4.1 of “IEEE
Standard for Safety Levels
with Respect to Human Exposure to Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, 3
kHz to 300 GHz,”
ANSI/IEEE Std C95.1-1992, copyright 1992 by the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers, Inc.,
New York, New York 10017.

(e)(1) Table 1 sets forth limits for Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE) to
radiofrequency
electromagnetic fields.

Table 1—Limits for Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE)

Frequency range (MHz)          Electric field strength (V/m)  Magnetic
field strength  (A/m)  Power density(mW/cm2)  Averaging time  (minutes)


(A) Limits for Occupational/Controlled Exposure

0.3–3.0                                    614
          1.63                                          *(100)
                   < 63.

0–30                                   1842/f
      4.89/f                                        *(900/f2)
             < 6

30–300                                     61.4
        0.163                                         1.0
                 < 6

300–1500
                                                            f/300
                      < 6

1500–100,000
                                                         5
                      < 6


(B) Limits for General Population/Uncontrolled Exposure
0.3–1.34                                 614
        1.63                                           *(100)
                < 30
1.34–30                                  824/f
        2.19/f                                         *(180/f2)
                < 30
30–300                                     27.5
       0.073                                         0.2
                 < 30
300–1500
                                                           f/1500
                    < 30
1500–100,000
                                                       1.0
                    < 30
f = frequency in MHz * = Plane-wave equivalent power density

(2) Occupational/controlled exposure limits apply in situations in which
persons are exposed as a
consequence of their employment provided those persons are fully aware of
the potential for exposure and
can exercise control over their exposure. The phrase fully aware in the
context of applying these
exposure limits means that an exposed person has received written and/or
verbal information fully
explaining the potential for RF exposure resulting from his or her
employment. With the exception of
transient persons, this phrase also means that an exposed person has
received appropriate training
regarding work practices relating to controlling or mitigating his or her
exposure. In situations when an
untrained person is transient through a location where
occupational/controlled limits apply, he or she must
be made aware of the potential for exposure and be supervised by trained
personnel pursuant to Section

1.1307(b)(2) of this chapter where use of time averaging is required to
ensure compliance with the
general population exposure limit. The phrase exercise control means that
an exposed person is allowed
and also knows how to reduce or avoid exposure by administrative or
engineering work practices, such as
use of personal protective equipment or time averaging of exposure.

(3) General population/uncontrolled exposure limits apply in situations in
which the general public
may be exposed, or in which persons who are exposed as a consequence of
their employment may not be
fully aware of the potential for exposure or cannot exercise control over
their exposure. For example, RF
sources intended for consumer use shall be subject to the limits for
general population/uncontrolled
exposure in this section.
* * * * *

73
DR
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