Bloomberg Law: FCC Faces Skeptical Appeals Judges in Radiation Emissions Case
By David Yaffe-Bellan
- Suit claims commission ignored risks from cell towers, devices
- Two Obama-appointed judges suggested FCC review inadequate
Excerpts from Bloomberg Law article
A federal appeals panel in Washington voiced skepticism that the Federal Communications Commission had adequately considered dangerous health effects when it established guidelines for radiation emission from cell towers and wireless devices.
At a hearing Monday in Washington, two of the three judges on the panel, Robert Wilkins and Patricia Millet, appeared receptive to a suit claiming the FCC ignored concerns that the permitted radiation levels could contribute to cancers and other health issues. Both Wilkins and Millet were appointed to the court by President Barack Obama.
A coalition of advocacy groups, led by the Environmental Health Trust and Children’s Health Defense, sued the FCC in 2019. Such regulatory matters are often heard directly by the federal appeals court in Washington. Monday’s hearing did not focus on the underlying scientific questions but rather on the administrative process undertaken by the FCC
Wilkins told Ashley Boizelle, a government lawyer representing the commission, that he was “inclined to rule against you” because the FCC did not appear to have consulted a committee established by Congress to evaluate the health impact of radiation from mobile devices and infrastructure. “You’ve given us no evidence that this committee has looked at any of this,” the judge said
Read the full article at https://news.bloomberglaw.com/tech-and-telecom-law/fcc-faces-skeptical-appeals-judges-in-radiation-emissions-case
Watch the oral argument of the FCC Counsel Ashley Boizelle.
