• 25 MAY 09
    • 0

    #1065: Text of the Portland City Council resolution

    I few subscribers to this list have let me know that the web link to the Portland City Council resolution doesn’t work. Libby Kelley indicates that it has been verified and she has provided the text below. There is also the link to the video of the council meeting in which the resolution was approved.

    Don

    Summary of Statement: BE IT RESOLVED that the Portland City Council requests
    the FCC to work in cooperation with the FDA and other relevant federal
    agencies to revisit and update studies on potential health concerns
    arising from RF wireless emissions in light of the national
    proliferation of wireless use;

    RESOLUTION No.
    Request the federal government to update studies on potential health
    effects of radio frequency wireless emissions in light of significant
    increases in wireless use.
    WHEREAS, federal law preempts state and local governments, including
    the City of Portland, from considering health concerns in the
    regulation and placement of wireless facilities, so long as such
    facilities otherwise comply with applicable federal law; and
    WHEREAS, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has jurisdiction
    over non-federal wireless facilities, authorizing and licensing all
    non-federal devices, transmitters and facilities that generate Radio
    Frequency (RF) radiation; and
    WHEREAS, the FCC relies upon federal agencies with health and safety
    expertise, such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the
    Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institute for
    Occupational Safety and Health, and the Occupational Safety and Health
    Administration which have assigned roles in federal law for monitoring
    and investigating issues related to RF exposure; and
    WHEREAS, the Government Accounting Office in 2001 prepared a report of
    its investigation into safety concerns related to mobile phones, and
    concluded that further research into wireless technology is needed,
    recommending the FDA take the lead in monitoring research results; and
    WHEREAS, the FCC in 2003 last updated guidelines for human exposure to
    RF electromagnetic fields from wireless facilities, based primarily on
    recommendations of other federal agencies after reviews of prior
    scientific literature related to RF biological effects, primarily from
    the 1990s; and
    WHEREAS, a survey released in May 2009 from the Centers for Disease
    Control and Prevention concluded that for the first time the number of
    households in the U.S. with only a cell phone exceeds the number of
    households in the U.S. with only a landline phone;
    NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Portland City Council requests
    the FCC to work in cooperation with the FDA and other relevant federal
    agencies to revisit and update studies on potential health concerns
    arising from RF wireless emissions in light of the national
    proliferation of wireless use; and
    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council Clerk shall cause a copy of
    this Resolution to be sent to all members of the FCC, to the FDA
    Commissioner, and to all members of the Oregon Congressional Delegation.
    Adopted by the Council: Gary Blackmer
    Commissioner Amanda Fritz Auditor of the City of Portland
    May 12, 2009 By
    Deputy

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