1.This Act may be cited as the
Cell Phone Right to Know
Act
.
2.
(a)The Director and the
Administrator, acting jointly, shall conduct or support a comprehensive
research program to determine whether exposure to electromagnetic fields from
mobile communication devices causes adverse biological effects in humans,
including especially vulnerable subpopulations such as children, pregnant
women, those with compromised immune systems and hypersensitivity reactions,
men and women of reproductive age, and the elderly.
(b)With respect to
the possible adverse biological effects in humans from exposure to
electromagnetic fields from mobile communication devices, the program under
subsection (a) shall provide for—
(1)the collection,
compilation, publication, and dissemination of scientifically valid
information;
(2)research on mechanisms by which such
electromagnetic fields interact with human biological systems; and
(3)epidemiological research.
(c)
(1)The Director and the Administrator, acting jointly,
shall ensure that information and research results under such program are
regularly made widely available to the general public.
(2)On the date that is
4 years after the date of enactment of this Act and on the date that is 8 years
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director and the Administrator,
acting jointly, shall transmit to Congress a report containing the findings and
conclusions of the research program under subsection (a).
(d)
(1)The Director and the Administrator, acting jointly, shall
convene a workshop to assist in the development of a plan for the research to
be carried out under such program.
(2)Participants
in the workshop shall include government employees, representatives of public
interest groups, and representatives from the scientific community with
expertise relevant to health issues or other adverse biological effects in
humans potentially associated with the exposure to electromagnetic fields from
mobile communication devices.
(e)
(1)The Director and the Administrator—
(A)may not delegate
any responsibility under this section to an officer or employee with any
significant conflict of interest relative to research or activities under this
section;
(B)shall require, as
a condition on receipt of assistance for research under this section, an
assurance that any person given responsibility to carry out such research will
not have any significant conflict of interest relative to such research;
and
(C)may not, with
respect to any such person, waive subparagraph (A) or (B) in any case or grant
an exemption under section 208(b) of title 18, United States Code.
(2)Relation to
other provisionsThe
requirements of paragraph (1) are in addition to the prohibition in section
208(a) of title 18, United States Code, and any other prohibition or
requirement in Federal law relating to conflicts of interest.
(3)Any person who is not a Federal Government employee
who performs research under the program in subsection (a) shall be considered a
special government employee for the purpose of conflict of interest rules,
including section 208 of title 18, United States Code.
(f)Clarification of
researcher access to information
(1)Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall promulgate regulations to
allow a subscriber to access personally or to give consent to allow researchers
with institutional review board approval to access specific usage data required
to investigate the link between electromagnetic radiation exposure and
potential adverse biological effects in humans.
(2)Such regulations shall provide that a company regulated by
the Commission from whom a subscriber or a researcher, with the consent of an
individual subscriber, requests data in accordance with such regulations
shall—
(A)respond to and
provide such data within 30 business days; or
(B)be fined not more
than $10,000 per account per day following such 30-day period in accordance
with the Communications Act of 1934.
(3)The regulations shall provide that, of the data
described in paragraph (1), all relevant data shall be accessible, including
the following:
(A)With respect to
the individual subscriber, usage data including the following:
(i)The date and time
the call or data session began and ended.
(ii)The outgoing and
incoming phone number.
(iii)The carrier
modulation, such as GSM, CDMA, UMTS, W–CDMA, or LTE.
(iv)The frequency
band.
(v)The
subscriber location.
(vi)The number of
base stations used.
(vii)The amount and
rate of data transmitted and received.
(viii)The form of
data usage, such as text messaging or other data transmission.
(B)With respect to
the base stations used by each individual subscriber:
(i)All base stations
used in the call or data session.
(ii)The
base station identifiers.
(iii)The date of
installation.
(iv)The maximum, the
average, the total, and the effective radiated power.
(v)The frequencies
and modulation.
(g)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated to the Director and the Administrator a total of
$50,000,000 per year for the first 7 fiscal years that begin after the date of
the enactment of this Act to carry out this section.
3.
(a)
(1)The Administrator shall promulgate regulations
establishing maximum exposure level goals and maximum exposure levels for
exposure to electromagnetic fields generated by mobile communication
devices.
(2)
(A)Maximum exposure
level goalA maximum exposure
level goal established under paragraph (1) shall be set at the level—
(i)at
which no known or anticipated adverse human biological effects occur;
and
(ii)which allows an
adequate margin of safety.
(B)
(i)A maximum exposure level established under paragraph (1)
shall specify a maximum exposure level which is as close to the maximum
exposure level goal as feasible.
(ii)In
deriving the maximum exposure levels and maximum exposure level goals, the
Administrator may not rely on any human behavior modification, including an
expectation of holding the mobile communication device a specified distance
away from the head or body.
(3)In
promulgating regulations under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall ensure
that any method of measurement of a maximum exposure level goal or a maximum
exposure level is reproducible by an independent third party.
(4)Initial goal and
level; periodic reviewNot later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall promulgate final regulations
under paragraph (1) establishing initial maximum exposure level goals and
maximum exposure levels. Not later than every 2 years thereafter, the
Administrator shall—
(A)review each
maximum exposure level goal and maximum exposure level established under
paragraph (1), taking into consideration advances in science and
technology;
(B)publish a
determination on whether the goal or level should be revised under such
paragraph; and
(C)as appropriate,
revise the goal or level.
(5)In
promulgating regulations under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall consider
and account for—
(A)whether any research relied upon by the
Administrator was funded by an entity whose profitability could be affected by
the outcome;
(B)health outcomes,
biological effects, and mechanisms, including—
(i)sleep
disturbance;
(ii)depression;
(iii)tremors;
(iv)headache;
(v)dizziness;
(vi)fatigue;
(vii)irritability;
(viii)loss of
memory;
(ix)loss of
appetite;
(x)nausea;
(xi)visual
disturbances;
(xii)hearing loss and
tinnitus;
(xiii)increases in
stress proteins;
(xiv)immune systems
alterations;
(xv)cancers and
tumors, including brain tumors and acoustic neuromas, parotid gland tumors, eye
cancer, testicular cancer, breast cancer, head or neck melanoma, lymphoma, and
leukemia;
(xvi)reproductive
system effects;
(xvii)DNA
breaks;
(xviii)blood brain
barrier leakage; and
(xix)free radical
formation;
(C)concerns raised by
the Federal Radio Frequency Interagency Working Group in its letter dated June
17, 1999, and its subsequent letter dated July 16, 2003, about the existing
exposure standard;
(D)vulnerable subpopulations, including
children, pregnant women, those with compromised immune systems and
hypersensitivity reactions, men and women of reproductive age, and the
elderly;
(E)non-thermal
mechanisms of effects, including low-intensity modulated fields;
(F)multiple exposures
in indoor and outdoor environments;
(G)measurements of
exposure and dose including specific absorption rate;
(H)exposure to
extremely low frequency and static electromagnetic fields;
(I)dose-response and
non-dose-response analytic models;
(J)the practice of
averaging exposures over a period of time which masks peak exposures that may
cause adverse biological effects;
(K)individual
behaviors that lengthen, intensify, or otherwise modify exposure in a way that
increases exposure or spreads exposure to different parts of the body;
(L)the rapidly changing nature of usage of
electromagnetic field emitting products, including trends towards products that
increase duration of exposure, such as a wearable mobile communication
device;
(M)effects of low intensity radiofrequency
electromagnetic fields;
(N)effects of
modulation of signal, pulse, frequency, amplitude, and power;
(O)effects of
different signaling characteristics, such as phased array exposure;
(P)effects of changes
reflected in electroencephalographies that could lead to seizures or mood
alterations;
(Q)effects of
exposure to multiple frequencies of radiofrequency electromagnetic
fields;
(R)effects of
extremely low frequency-modulated electromagnetic fields; and
(S)effects of chronic
exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields.
(6)Interagency
advisory committeeThe Administrator shall—
(A)establish an
interagency advisory committee of individuals who are officers or employees of
Federal departments and agencies; and
(B)consult with the committee in establishing
maximum exposure level goals and maximum exposure levels under paragraph (1),
including with respect to selecting a unit of measurement.
(b)The Federal Communications Commission shall implement and
enforce the standards adopted under subsection (a) as if the standards were
promulgated by the Commission under the authority of the Communications Act of
1934.
(c)
(1)An
officer or employee of the Federal Government may not participate in
establishing a maximum exposure level goal or maximum exposure level under
subsection (a), may not serve as a member of the interagency advisory committee
established under subsection (a)(6), and may not participate personally and
substantially in the implementation or enforcement of a maximum exposure level
goal or maximum exposure level under subsection (b), if such person is in
violation of section 208 of title 18, United States Code.
(2)A
violation of paragraph (1) shall be treated as a violation of section 208(a) of
title 18, United States Code.
(3)An exemption under section 208(b) of title 18, United
States Code, may not be granted to an officer or employee described in
paragraph (1).
(4)Relation to
other provisionsThe prohibition of paragraph (1) is in addition
to the prohibition in section 208(a) of title 18, United States Code, and any
other prohibition or requirement in Federal law relating to conflicts of
interest.
4.Exposure standard
labelingThe Commissioner
shall promulgate regulations to provide for labeling of mobile communication
devices as set forth in this section. Such labeling shall include the exposure
rating of the device, the maximum allowable exposure level, and the maximum
allowable exposure goal—
(1)in a manner that
is readily accessible upon regular use of the device;
(2)at any point of
sale in a store in the United States;
(3)at any point of
sale on a Web site engaging in commerce in the United States; and
(4)on the outside
packaging and in the instruction manual.
5.Reinvigorating
American research in electromagnetic radiation and health
(a)The Secretary shall
expand and intensify the activities of the Department of Health and Human
Services to train, and support the training of, scientists in the field of
examining the relationship between electromagnetic fields and human health. In
carrying out this subsection, the Secretary shall—
(1)increase the
number and size of grants to institutions for such training; and
(2)increase the
number of career development awards for such training for health professionals
who intend to build careers in pediatric basic and clinical research, including
pediatric pharmacological research.
(b)National
Research Service AwardsSection 487 of the Public Health Service
Act (42 U.S.C. 288; relating to Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service
Awards) is amended—
(1)in subsection
(a)(1)(A)—
(A)in clause (iii),
by striking and
at the end;
(B)in clause (iv), by
striking the period at the end and inserting ; and
; and
(C)by adding at the
end the following:
(v)research in the field of examining the
relationship between electromagnetic fields and human health at public entities
and private nonprofit academic
institutions.
;
and
(2)by adding at the
end the following:
(d)There are
authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2013 and each
subsequent fiscal year for research under subsection (a)(1)(A)(v). The amounts
authorized to be appropriated under the preceding sentence are in addition to
any other amounts authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
section.
.
(c)Part G of title IV of
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 288 et seq.) is amended—
(1)by redesignating
the second section 487F (42 U.S.C. 288–6) as section 487G; and
(2)by inserting after
section 487G, as so redesignated, the following:
487H.Loan repayment
program for researchers in the field of examining the relationship between
electromagnetic fields and human health
(a)The Secretary, acting
through the Director of the National Institutes of Health, shall establish a
program to enter into contracts with qualified individuals under which such
individuals agree to conduct research in the field of examining the
relationship between electromagnetic fields and human health, in consideration
of the Federal Government agreeing to repay, for each year of service
conducting such research, not more than $35,000 of the principal and interest
of the graduate educational loans of such individuals.
(b)Application of
provisionsThe provisions of
sections 338B, 338C, and 338E shall, except as inconsistent with subsection (a)
of this section, apply to the program established under subsection (a) to the
same extent and in the same manner as such provisions apply to the National
Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program established in subpart III of part
D of title III.
(c)To
be qualified to receive a contract under subsection (a), an individual shall
agree to conduct the research at a public or private nonprofit entity.
(d)Authorization of
appropriationsTo carry out this section, there is authorized to
be appropriated $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2013 and each subsequent fiscal
year.
.
6.Clarification of
local control related to human healthSection 332(c)(7)(B)(iv) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(c)(7)(B)(iv)) is amended by striking
radio frequency emissions
and inserting radiofrequency
emissions, excluding the adverse human health effects of emissions of
radiofrequency electromagnetic fields,
.
7.For purposes of this Act:
(1)The term Administrator means
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(2)The
Commissioner
means the Commissioner of Food and Drugs.
(3)The term Director means the
Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
(4)Mobile
communication deviceThe term mobile communication
device means a device defined as a portable device in section 2.1093(b)
of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, and any transmissions from such
device.
(5)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of Health and Human
Services.