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Home My WebLink AboutR_NIER_Report_LDC_180222_v1HATFIELD & DAWSON THOMAS M. ECKELS, PE CONSULTING ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS TELEPHONE (206) 783-9151 STEPHEN S. LOCKWOOD, PE 9500 GREENWOOD AVE. N.FACSIMILE (206) 789-9834 DAVID J. PINION, PE SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98103 E-MAIL pinion @ hatdaw.com ERIK C. SWANSON, PE ___________MAURY L. HATFIELD, PE THOMAS S. GORTON, PE (1942 – 2009) MICHAEL H. MEHIGAN, PE PAUL W. LEONARD, PE (1925 – 2011) JAMES B. HATFIELD, PE BENJAMIN F. DAWSON III, PE CONSULTANTS NON-IONIZING ELECTROMAGNETIC EXPOSURE ANALYSIS AND ENGINEERING CERTIFICATION PREPARED FOR Verizon Wireless “SEA RETAIL RENTON” PROPOSED WIRELESS FACILITY 960 PARK AVE N CITY OF RENTON KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON FEBRUARY 2018 RECEIVED 02/27/2018 amorganroth PLANNING DIVISION 1 INTRODUCTION Hatfield & Dawson Consulting Engineers has been retained to evaluate the proposed Verizon Wireless personal wireless communications facility “SEA RETAIL RENTON” for compliance with current Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and local guidelines regarding public exposure to radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMFs). BACKGROUND Construction drawings and other information furnished by Verizon representatives show that the proposed wireless facility will have six (6) panel antennas and associated RF equipment installed within RF transparent screened enclosures atop the roof of the project building at 960 Park Ave N, Renton, in King County, Washington 98057. The construction drawings show that all of the Verizon panel antennas will be mounted above the roof deck and centered at least 26 feet above finish grade. Thus all of the Verizon antennas will be mounted well above head height for persons inside the project building, or standing anywhere at ground level near the project site. RF exposure conditions within the project building, and on adjacent properties, due to the combined contributions from all of the Verizon antennas will be well below the FCC Public exposure limit, and the limits given in King County code K.C.C. 21A.26.100 “NIER exposure standards.” Access to the project building roof appears to be restricted. It is unlikely that a casual visitor to the roof would dwell long enough in the vicinity of the Verizon antennas to cause that person’s RF exposure to exceed FCC limits. However there may be certain rooftop locations where a person could stand in close proximity to the active apertures of the Verizon antennas. These areas should be designated as “exclusion zones”. Persons standing on the roof outside of the exclusion zones will not be subjected to excessive RF exposure conditions due to the Verizon Wireless operations. Hatfield & Dawson Consulting Engineers 2 The Verizon wireless facility is expected to be compliant with FCC rules and guidelines regarding public RF exposure provided that direct access to the Verizon antennas is positively restricted by clearly demarcated and enforced roof top exclusion zones. Personal wireless panel and microwave antennas are highly directional; these antennas project the majority of the transmitted RF energy horizontally away from the project building, and well above all nearby habitable areas. It is expected that RF exposure conditions within the project building and on adjacent properties, due to the contributions from all of the Verizon wireless operations, will be well below FCC and local public exposure limits , and the limits given in King County code K.C.C. 21A.26.100 “NIER exposure standards.” RF EXPOSURE CONDITIONS DUE TO VERIZON FACILITY The Verizon facility may operate within the 700 MHz LTE band, the 850 MHz cellular band, the 1.9 GHz Personal Communications Service (PCS) bands, and the 2.1 GHz Advanced Wireless Service (AWS) bands. Personal wireless and microwave facilities are required to comply with the FCC “Rules & Regulations” 47 CFR §1.1310, Radiofrequency radiation exposure limits. The exposure limits shown in the table titled “NIER Exposure Standards (1) (6)” in K.C.C. 21A.26.100 “NIER exposure standards” are generally in agreement with FCC exposure guidelines and limits. In any case, since the FCC exposure limits supersede the limits shown in the aforementioned table, then compliance is determined by comparing RF field predictions with the general population/uncontrolled environment (i.e., “Public”) Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE) limits allowed by the FCC rules and guidelines, as specified in 47 CFR §1.1310. Ambient exposure conditions in nearby areas below the roof deck are expected to be a fraction of the 100% FCC Public MPE limit due to all Verizon operations at the site. The operation of the Verizon facility will NOT create significant RF exposure conditions within any occupancy, habitable space or publicly accessible area. Hatfield & Dawson Consulting Engineers 3 COMPLIANCE WITH FCC REGULATIONS REGARDING RF EXPOSURE The FCC has determined through calculations and technical analysis that personal wireless facilities, such as those operated by Verizon, are highly unlikely to cause human RF exposures in excess of FCC guideline limits. The Verizon Wireless facility may cause localized areas of excessive exposure conditions on the roof. These designated exclusion zones are off-limits for persons without RF safety awareness training. As long as these exclusion zones are clearly demarcated and enforced, the Verizon facility is presumed to be in compliance with FCC RF exposure guidelines. The public RF exposure environment outside of designated exclusion zones due to the Verizon operations will be below the FCC limits. Therefore the Verizon Wireless operations at the project site will not have a significant environmental impact as defined by the FCC Public MPE limits. COMPLIANCE WITH FCC REGULATIONS FOR RF EMISSIONS AND RF INTERFERENCE It is expected that the RF interaction between all of the Verizon Wireless operations will be low enough to preclude the likelihood of localized interference caused by the Verizon facility to the reception of any other communications signals. All of the Verizon antennas will be sufficiently high enough, and far enough removed from all occupancies, that they are unlikely to cause interference with nearby consumer receivers or other consumer electronic devices. Transmission equipment for the Verizon Wireless facility is certified by the FCC under the equipment authorization procedures set forth in the FCC rules and guidelines. This assures that the wireless facility will transmit within the desired base-station frequency bands at authorized power levels. The Verizon Wireless facility will operate in accordance with all FCC rules and guidelines regarding power, signal bandwidth, interference mitigation, and good RF engineering practices. The Verizon facility will comply with all FCC standards for radio frequency emissions. Hatfield & Dawson Consulting Engineers 4 CONCLUSIONS BASED ON FCC REGULATIONS FOR RF EMISSIONS The Verizon Wireless facility “SEA RETAIL RENTON” will be in compliance with current FCC and local rules regarding radio frequency interference and public exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields provided that direct access to the antennas on the project site is positively restricted to authorized and RF cognizant workers. This conclusion is based on information supplied by Verizon representatives, and estimates of future RF exposure conditions due to the Verizon facility in specific areas with the corresponding safe exposure guidelines set forth in the FCC rules and guidelines, and in King County K.C.C. Chapter 21A.26. The Verizon Wireless operations at the project site will not have a significant environmental impact as defined by the FCC Public MPE limits. Furthermore, the Verizon facility will not cause any nearby existing wireless facility to exceed non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation (NIER) exposure standards. These conclusions are based on information supplied by Verizon representatives, and estimates of future RF exposure conditions due to the Verizon facility in specific areas with the corresponding safe exposure guidelines set forth in the FCC rules and guidelines. The FCC exposure limits are based on recommendations by federal and private entities with the appropriate expertise in human safety issues. Under the Commission’s rules and guidelines, licensees are required to ensure compliance with the limits for maximum permissible exposure (MPE) established by the FCC. These limits have been developed based on guidelines provided by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) and the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP). Both the NCRP and IEEE guidelines were developed by scientists and engineers with a great deal of experience and knowledge in the area of RF biological effects and related issues. To ensure full compliance with FCC rules and guidelines regarding human exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields, the Verizon transmitters should be turned off whenever maintenance personnel are required to work in the immediate vicinity of the Verizon antenna apertures. This safety procedure should apply to all existing and future wireless transmission facilities at the project site. All instances of antenna- related work require deactivation of the subject antennas. Hatfield & Dawson Consulting Engineers 5 COMPLIANCE WITH LOCAL REGULATIONS Because the Verizon wireless facility will be in compliance with federal rules and guidelines, it will also be in compliance with local regulations concerning RF emissions per K.C.C. 21A.26.090, etc. The following is the complete text of 47 U.S.C. § 332(c)(7)(B)(iv): “No State or local government or instrumentality thereof may regulate the placement, construction, and modification of personal wireless service facilities on the basis of the environmental effects of radio frequency emissions to the extent that such facilities comply with the Commission’s regulations concerning such emissions.” QUALIFICATIONS I am a Senior Member of the IEEE. As a partner in the firm of Hatfield & Dawson Consulting Engineers I am registered as a Professional Engineer in the States of Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii. I am an experienced radio engineer with over 35 years of professional engineering experience whose qualifications are a matter of record with the Federal Communications Commission, and I hold an FCC General Radiotelephone Operator License PG- 12-21740. All representations contained herein are true to the best of my knowledge. 14 February 2018 David J. Pinion, P.E. Hatfield & Dawson Consulting Engineers