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ARLB017 RF standards opposed
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ARRL Bulletin 17  ARLB017
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  February 4, 1994
To all radio amateurs

RF standards opposed

The ARRL has told the FCC that a proposal to adopt new standards for
exposure to radio frequency radiation should be terminated.

The League said that the proposal, which would change the
Commission's guidelines to match those adopted by the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Institute of Electrical
and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) in 1992, was premature, and more
properly should have been introduced as an FCC notice of inquiry.

The ARRL said that the ANSI/IEEE standards were not properly
delineated and not a proper basis for evaluating communications
facilities.  The new standards would replace less stringent
standards adopted in 1982.

The League said that an FCC Report and Order in 1987 that concluded
that amateur stations should be exempted from such RF exposure
guidelines, because amateur stations operate only intermittently,
and at low power levels, still applies.  Only rarely, the League
said, would amateur stations even exceed the proposed, more
stringent 1992 ANSI/IEEE standard.

The League said that the FCC's proceeding should be terminated in
favor of more study, by a more appropriate government agency, such
as the Environmental Protection Agency, or else by an FCC notice of
inquiry.

This proposal, in ET Docket 93-62, was made in the spring of 1993
and its comment deadline has been extended several times, most
recently to January 25, 1994, based on a request by CBS Inc.  The
reply comment deadline is February 24, 1994.
/EX