Safety Code 6 is a Canadian standard dictated by Health Canada, the federal agency charged with maintaining and improving the well-being of Canadians. Safety Code 6 offers Canadians a set of guidelines for limiting human exposure to electromagnetic fields from wireless devices over a frequency range of 3 kHz – 300 GHz. This includes personal electronics like computers, smart phones and TVs, along with Wi-Fi and broadcasting or telecommunications towers. Exposure limits for this standards are divided into two types: basic restrictions (limits within the body) and reference levels (limits outside of the body).
Basic Restrictions
| Internal Electric Field Strength Basic Restrictions (3 kHz - 10 MHz) |
| Condition |
Internal Electric Field Strength (V/m) (in any excitable tissue) |
| Controlled Environment |
2.7 × 10-4f |
| Uncontrolled Environment |
1.35 × 10-4f |
| Specific Absorption Rate Basic Restrictions (100 kHz - 6 GHz) |
| Condition |
SAR Limit (W/kg) Uncontrolled Environment |
SAR Limit (W/kg) Controlled Environment |
| The SAR averaged over the whole body mass. |
0.08 |
0.4 |
| The peak spatially-averaged SAR for the head, neck and trunk, averaged over any 1 g of tissue |
1.6 |
8 |
| The peak spatially-averaged SAR in the limbs, averaged over any 10 g of tissue |
4 |
20 |
Reference Levels
| Electric Field Strength Reference Levels |
| Frequency (MHz) |
Reference Level Basis |
Reference Level (ERL), (V/m, RMS)
Uncontrolled Environment |
Reference Level (ERL), (V/m, RMS)
Controlled Environment |
Reference Period |
| 0.003 - 10 |
NS |
83 |
170 |
Instantaneous |
| 1.0 - 10 |
SAR |
87 / f0.5 |
193 / f0.5 |
6 minutes |
| Magnetic Field Strength Reference Levels |
| Frequency (MHz) |
Reference Level Basis |
Reference Level (ERL), (V/m, RMS)
Uncontrolled Environment |
Reference Level (ERL), (V/m, RMS)
Controlled Environment |
Reference Period |
| 0.003 - 10 |
NS |
90 |
180 |
Instantaneous |
| 1.0 - 10 |
SAR |
0.73 / f |
1.6 / f |
6 minutes |
Download Safety Code 6 PDF
