[WIARC] FW: ARLB011 Updated Radio Frequency Exposure Rules Become Effective on May 3

[dpease at adams.net]

I am sure many of you have already seen this but many club members are not
ARRL members, they may not have seen this. This affects all of us but the
levels has not changed, just who and when we need to do an RF exposure
safety assessment.

Danny W9DP


Danny W9DP

-----Original Message-----
From: ARRL Web site <memberlist at www.arrl.org> 
Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2021 10:56 AM
To: dpease at adams.net
Subject: ARLB011 Updated Radio Frequency Exposure Rules Become Effective on
May 3

SB QST @ ARL $ARLB011
ARLB011 Updated Radio Frequency Exposure Rules Become Effective on May 3

ZCZC AG11
QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 11  ARLB011
>From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  April 13, 2021
To all radio amateurs 

SB QST ARL ARLB011

ARLB011 Updated Radio Frequency Exposure Rules Become Effective on May 3

The FCC has announced that rule changes detailed in a lengthy 2019 Report
and Order 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.

The Report and Order can be found online in PDF format at,
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-19-126A1.pdf .

"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 in PDF format for free download from ARRL
at,
http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/RFsafetyCommittee/28RFSafety.pdf
.  

ARRL also has an RF Safety page on its website at,
http://www.arrl.org/rf-exposure .

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.
NNNN
/EX