#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