PO Box 10362, Wellington 6143
Website: www.mfe.govt.nz
Freephone: 0800
499 700
19-D-02401
Sue Grey
fyi-req uest-11413-bd06024d@req uests.fyi .org. nz
Dear Sue Grey,
Thank you for your email of 8 October 2019 requesting information under the Official Information Act 1982
(the Act) from Hon Chris Faafoi as Minister for Broadcasting, Communications and Digital. Parts (A) and (B)
of your request were transferred to the Ministry for the Environment (the Ministry) for response.
You have requested:
Information to show:
(A) the maximum permitted RFEMR exposure limit in NZ in microwatts/cm2
(BJ how the limit in NZ is justified and considered safe for New Zealanders considering the far stricter
limits in many other countries for example: China 10 microwatts/cm2, Russia 10 microwatts/cm2,
Italy 10 microwatts/cm2, France 10 microwatts/cm2, Poland 10 microwatts/cm2, Hungary 10
microwatts/cm2, Switzerland General 9.5 microwatts/cm2Switzerland Schools and Hospitals 4.25
microwatts/cm2, Belgium 2.4 microwatts/cm2, Bulgaria 2.4 microwatts/cm2.
The Ministry has identified seven documents in scope of your request, two relate to Part A of your request
and five relate to Part B. These are listed in the attached table. Please note that these documents are or
soon will be publicly available, therefore these are refused under section 18(d) of the Act.
Part (A)
With regard to Part A of your request we have interpreted 'RFEMR1 to mean radio frequency fields and
'maximum permitted exposure limit1 to mean the allowable permitted exposure level under the National
Environmental Standards for Telecommunications Facilities 2016 (NESTF 2016).
The NESTF 2016 does not set an allowable permitted exposure level that is an offence to breach. However,
it does regulate land uses by permitting some facilities if they meet certain requirements.
Under the NESTF 2016, facilities that generate radio frequency fields must be installed and operated in
accordance with New Zealand Standard NZS 2772.1:1999 Radiofrequency fields- Maximum exposure levels
- 3 kHz to 300 GHz (the NZS). It also requires the facility operator to provide information to show compliance
with the NZS. If these requirements are not met, a higher level of resource consent is required which has to
meet more tests.
Your request also refers to the maximum permitted exposure limit expressed in "microwatts/cm2'1. The NZS
does not refer to one "maximum permitted exposure limit}} but instead has many aspects with which
compliance is required - and for a number of different circumstances.
