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 NEWS  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  TTY  202  /  418-  2555  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  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:  December  29,  2003  Suzanne  Tetreault  at  (202)  418-  1769 
 Suzanne  Tetreault@  fcc.  gov 
 FCC  FINES  A-  O  BROADCASTING  $25,000  FOR  VIOLATIONS  OF  RF  RADIATION  LIMITS  AND  OTHER  COMMISSION  RULES 


 Washington,  D.  C.  –  Today  the  Commission  released  a  Forfeiture  Order  imposing  a  forfeiture  against  A-  O  Broadcasting,  Inc.  (“  A-  O”),  former  licensee  of  FM  radio  station  KTMN, 
 Cloudcroft,  New  Mexico,  in  the  amount  of  $25,000  for  violations  of  the  radiofrequency  radiation  (“  RFR”)  exposure  limits  applicable  to  transmitters  on  towers  and  for  other  rule  violations.  This 
 is  the  first  case  in  which  the  Commission  has  imposed  a  monetary  forfeiture  for  violation  of  the  RFR  exposure  limits. 


 FCC  agents  inspected  KTMN’s  transmitter  site  after  receiving  a  complaint  alleging  that  KTMN  was  not  operating  at  its  authorized  power  and  was  not  in  compliance  with  the  RFR 
 exposure  limits.  The  inspection  revealed  that  KTMN’s  transmitting  antenna,  which  was  mounted  on  an  observation  tower  used  by  the  U.  S.  Forest  Service  to  watch  for  wildfires,  was 
 mounted  substantially  lower  on  the  tower  than  authorized  in  KTMN’s  license.  Measurements  taken  by  the  agents  showed  that  operation  of  KTMN’s  transmitting  antenna  at  only  40%  of  its 
 authorized  power  created  RFR  fields  which  exceeded  the  RFR  exposure  limits  for  the  general  public  by  more  than  300%  on  the  observation  tower  and  in  areas  outside  the  fence  surrounding 
 the  tower  that  were  accessible  to  the  public.  In  addition,  the  agents  found  that  A-  O  had  not  complied  with  special  RFR  operating  conditions  set  forth  in  its  license. 


 The  forfeiture  against  A-  O  includes  $10,000  for  exceeding  the  RFR  exposure  limits,  in  violation  of  Section  1.1310  of  the  Commission’s  Rules;  $6,400  for  failure  to  install  Emergency 
 Alert  System  equipment,  in  violation  of  Section  11.35  of  the  Commission’s  Rules:  $5,600  for  failure  to  have  a  main  studio,  in  violation  of  Section  73.1125  of  the  Commission’s  Rules;  and 
 $3,000  for  failure  to  have  adequate  transmission  system  control,  in  violation  of  Section  73.1400  of  the  Commission’s  Rules. 


 Action  by  the  Commission  on  December  29,  2003,  by  Notice  of  Apparent  Liability  for  Forfeiture  (FCC  03-  332).  Chairman  Powell,  Commissioners  Abernathy,  Copps,  Martin  and  Adelstein. 
 –  FCC  – 
 Enforcement  Bureau  Contacts:  Suzanne  Tetreault  at  (202)  418-  1769  or  Thomas  Fitz-  Gibbon  at  (202)  418-  0693. 
 TTY:  1  (888)  835-  5322 
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