Updated Radio Frequency Exposure Rules Become Effective on May 3, 2023
On May 3, 2021, new FCC rules governing RF exposure went into effect. A 2-year transition period was implemented to allow existing stations to make any necessary changes. On May 3, 2023, the transition period ends, and all transmitters operating in the US are expected to comply with the exposure rules.
The ARRL provides an RF Exposure Calculator at
http://arrl.org/rf-exposure-calculator
The calculator requires values to be entered for the power transmitted minus the feed-line loss, the antenna gain, the type of modulation used, the approximate transmit and receive times, and the frequency of operation. There is a checkbox to enable calculations with ground effects, and in the interest of conservation this should be selected. From these values, the calculator generates the minimun distance from any part of the antenna that a person in the occupational and general populations may be located.
This evaluation must be repeated for every frequency band, antenna, and the maximum power level that's used to obtain a complete environmental analysis of a station.