10.8.4 Public Access Areas
Every area accessible to the general public must comply with the public limits under the maximum reasonably foreseeable operating conditions.
The assessment should include all relevant sources, spatial and time averaging, uncertainty, and foreseeable public access. Antennas, shielding, barriers, and site layout should be designed so that members of the public cannot reach locations where the public limits may be exceeded.
Protection of the public should not depend on technical knowledge, training, or consistent compliance with warning signs.
10.8.5 Establishing Zone Boundaries
Controlled Area and exclusion-zone boundaries should be based on a documented exposure assessment, not on visual judgment or an unverified nominal separation distance.
The assessment may use:
- RF field or power-density measurements;
- validated computational modeling;
- analytical calculations appropriate to the field region;
- verified manufacturer and operator technical data; or
- a validated combination of these methods.
The boundary assessment should address maximum intended operation, reasonably foreseeable abnormal conditions, simultaneous sources, variable beams or scan patterns, and the measurement or modeling uncertainty.
Where conditions vary, the Plan should define either a conservative fixed boundary or state-dependent boundaries and controls that reliably track the source configuration.
10.8.6 Physical Barriers And Access Control
Once the areas have been established, controls should prevent unauthorized or incorrectly classified entry.
Common methods include:
- security fencing;
- locked gates;
- locked equipment rooms;
- roof access controls;
- safety barriers;
- chain barriers;
- interlocked doors;
- controlled key systems; and
- electronic access control systems.
Security should reflect both the exposure risk and the likelihood that workers, contractors, visitors, or members of the public could reach the boundary.
If work requires entry into an exclusion zone, the applicable Plan and safe work procedure should require isolation, down-powering, beam control, or another verified arrangement that makes entry compliant before access is authorized.