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 NEWS  News  media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  TTY  202/  418-  2555  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974).  FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT 
 June  26,  2003  Bruce  Romano  at  (202)  418-  2470 
 FCC  PROPOSES  CHANGES  IN  THE  COMMISSION’S  RULES  AND  PROCEDURES  REGARDING  HUMAN  EXPOSURE 
 TO  RADIOFREQUENCY  ELECTROMAGNETIC  ENERGY 


 The  Commission  today  proposed  amending  certain  sections  of  Parts  1  and  2  of  the  FCC’s  rules  pertaining  to  compliance  with  guidelines  for  human  exposure  to  radiofrequency  (RF)  energy. 
 It  specifically  requests  comment  on  various  topics  and  issues  related  to  evaluating  compliance  with  those  guidelines,  but  did  not  propose  to  amend  the  exposure  guidelines  themselves. 


 The  National  Environmental  Policy  Act  (NEPA)  requires  agencies  of  the  Federal  Government  to  evaluate  the  effects  of  their  actions  on  the  quality  of  the  human  environment.  To 
 meet  its  NEPA  responsibilities,  the  Commission  has  previously  adopted  and  implemented  requirements  for  evaluating  environmental  impact,  including  the  impact  of  human  exposure  to  RF 
 energy  emitted  by  FCC-  regulated  transmitters.  The  Commission’s  current  rules  and  procedures  were  adopted  and  implemented  in  1996  and  1997.  Since  that  time,  it  has  become  apparent  that 
 some  aspects  of  these  rules  and  procedures  may  need  to  be  revised  or  modified,  based  on  our  experience  and  on  the  evolution  of  services  and  equipment,  and  to  clarify  the  responsibilities  of 
 Commission  licensees  and  grantees,  to  better  ensure  compliance  with  the  Commission’s  exposure  limits  in  the  most  practical,  reasonable  and  efficient  manner. 


 Specifically,  the  Notice  of  Proposed  Rule  Making  proposed,  among  other  changes,  to  revise  and  modify  Commission  policies  and  rules  for  routine  evaluation  of  compliance  with  exposure 
 guidelines  and  for  categorical  exclusion  from  evaluation  of  certain  transmitters,  facilities,  and  operations.  It  also  proposed  rules  for  routine  evaluation  of  compliance  for  certain  unlicensed 
 devices  authorized  under  Section  15.247  of  the  FCC’s  rules  (frequency  hopping  and  digital  spread  spectrum  devices).  In  addition,  it  proposed  the  codification  of  procedures  for  evaluating  compliance 
 for  modular  transmitters  used  in  RF  devices  authorized  by  the  Commission,  such  as  laptop  computers  and  for  evaluating  radiofrequency  exposure  from  multiple  transmitters  operating  in  a 
 given  RF  device.  It  also  proposed  rule  amendments  to  clarify  what  is  meant  by  “occupational”  exposure  and  to  more  clearly  define  the  responsibilities  of  FCC  licensees  and  grantees  in  complying 
 with  guidelines  for  such  exposures  in  workplace  environments.  The  Commission  invites  comment  on  all  of  these  proposals  and  issues  related  to  them. 


 Action  by  the  Commission,  June  12,  2003,  by  Notice  of  Proposed  Rule  Making  (FCC  03-132).  Chairman  Powell,  Commissioners  Abernathy,  Martin,  Copps  and  Adelstein,  with  Chairman 
 Powell  issuing  a  statement. 
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 Docket  No.  03-  137 
 Office  of  Engineering  Technology  Contact:  Robert  Cleveland  (202)  418-  2422. 
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