FCC Still Evaluating Whether to Revisit RF Safety Guidelines, Pai Tells House Democrats

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is aiming to reassure House Democrats about the agency's work to determine the safety of 5G RF emissions. House Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., and Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., separately wrote Pai earlier this year to raise concerns about 5G RF emissions, with DeFazio noting FCC RF safety guidelines “were adopted in 1996.” The FCC sought comment in 2013 on whether to revisit the issue (see 1304010037) and “it is unacceptable that six years later the FCC still has not conducted a reassessment” of those rules, DeFazio said. He also noted “increasing” concerns across the U.S. about 5G deployments, but the “federal government has not been transparent enough about the current status of 5G RF radiation research and its guidelines on RF exposure limits.” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., also pressed the FCC for 5G RF information in December (see 1812050035). The 2013 proceeding remains open and FCC staff are evaluating all filings to determine “whether and in what way changes to our rules in this area should be made,” Pai wrote DeFazio in a letter released Friday. The FCC's current RF exposure limits include “recommendations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and other federal health and safety agencies. And these limits are derived from exposure limits recommended by” the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, which “have extensive experience and knowledge in RF-related issues and have spent a considerable amount of time evaluating published scientific studies that can inform appropriate exposure limits.” The FCC has sponsored groups of congressional staffers” at its Columbia, Maryland, “testing facilities to see and speak with our engineers and technicians as they operate the RF testing equipment to ensure proper compliance with engineering standards,” Pai said. A group of 20 Capitol Hill aides visited the Columbia facility earlier this year “and we hope to have another group visit this coming summer.” Pai said the same in a letter to Kim also released Friday.