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Peoplesafe® RF Safety Training

For member discount you must enter this APCO promotion code when registering: APCOps08

It’s common knowledge that commercial communications providers are upgrading, enhancing, and expanding their wireless networks on a daily basis in an attempt to keep up with or ahead of increasing demand for mobile communications services. This means building new towers or often adding additional antennas to already crowded rooftop sites.

At the same time, public safety communications sites are also expanding and becoming more complex as public safety communications providers try to keep up with or ahead of the communications curve to be prepared to respond in an emergency.

Exposure to radio frequency (RF) emissions from these antenna sites can cause serious health problems – serious enough that OSHA and the FCC have adopted standards designed to protect both the general public and workers by minimizing possible health risks. Workers that spend time on job sites around transmitting antennas need proper training so they have the knowledge and skills to operate safely in those environments.

Commercial communication providers and public safety communications providers are both governed by these rules. Public safety managers should know the rules and ensure their sites and facilities are managed appropriately, both for their own protection and that of the general public. This course provides a complete education – all the information public safety managers need to know about RF safety.

Topics include:

RF basics - what RF is, how it is transmittedt
Biological hazards – the health risks associated with RF exposure, typical symptoms and remedies
Regulations – an overview of the FCC and OSHA regulations and how to comply
Personal safety – practical guidelines and visual demonstrations on proper use of protective equipment, recommended RF site visit procedures, examples of real-world situations
What to look for at a site – types of common antennas, how they transmit energy, what areas to avoid