Uncontrolled vs controlled environment
The North American equivalent of the general-public and occupational tiers: 'uncontrolled' means people who are not aware of their exposure and cannot act on it.
Last verified 12 August 2026.
- Category
- regulation
Definition
FCC and Health Canada tables are split into uncontrolled/general-population and controlled/occupational columns. Uncontrolled applies to people who have no knowledge of their exposure and no ability to limit it — residents, passers-by, anyone in a public area. Controlled applies to trained workers who are aware of the exposure and can control their time in the field, and is typically five times higher in power density and shorter in averaging time. Quoting an occupational figure as though it applied to a home is one of the commonest errors in EMF discussion.
Sources
- hc-safety-code-6 Limits of Human Exposure to Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Energy in the Frequency Range from 3 kHz to 300 GHz (Safety Code 6) — Health Canada, 2015. guideline, link checked 2026-08-12.
- fcc-1310 47 CFR § 1.1310 — Radiofrequency radiation exposure limits — U.S. Government Publishing Office (eCFR). regulation, link checked 2026-08-12.
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