| particular unit or suite of the facility in accordance with §134.123
of this title.
(A) Piping systems.
(i) Water supply systems. Water service pipe to point
of entrance to the building shall be brass pipe, copper tube (not
less than type M when buried directly), copper pipe, cast iron water
pipe, galvanized steel pipe, or approved plastic pipe. Water distribution
system piping within buildings shall be brass pipe, copper pipe,
copper tube, or galvanized steel pipe. Piping systems shall be designed
to supply water at sufficient pressure to operate all fixtures and
equipment during maximum demand.
(I) Valves. Each water service main, branch main, riser,
and branch to a group of fixtures shall be valved. Stop valves shall
be provided at each fixture.
(II) Backflow preventers. Backflow preventers (vacuum
breakers) shall be installed on hose bibbs, laboratory sinks, janitor
sinks, bedpan flushing attachments, and on all other fixtures to which
hoses or tubing can be attached.
(III) Flushing valves. Flush valves installed on plumbing
fixtures shall be of a quiet operating type, equipped with silencers.
(IV) Capacity of water heating equipment. Water heating
equipment shall have sufficient capacity to supply water for clinical,
dietary and laundry use at the temperatures and amounts specified
in Table 5 of §134.131(e) of this title.
(V) Water temperature measurements. Water temperatures
shall be measured at hot water point of use or at the inlet to processing
equipment.
(VI) Water storage tanks. Water storage tank(s) shall
be fabricated of corrosion-resistant metal or lined with noncorrosive
material.
(VII) Hot water distribution. Water distribution systems
shall be arranged to provide hot water at each hot water outlet at
all times.
(VIII) Emergency water supply. Emergency potable water
storage shall be provided. The storage capacity shall not be less
than 500 gallons or 12 gallons per patient bed, whichever is greater.
Capacity of hot water storage tanks may be included as part of the
required emergency water capacity when valves and piping systems are
arranged to make this water available at all times.
(ii) Fire sprinkler systems. Fire sprinkler systems
shall be provided in facilities as required by NFPA 101, §18-3.5.
All fire sprinkler systems shall be designed, installed, and maintained
in accordance with the requirements of NFPA13, and shall be certified
as required by §134.127(d)(3)(C) of this title (relating to Preparation,
Submittal, Review and Approval of Plans).
(iii) Nonflammable medical gas and clinical vacuum
systems. Nonflammable medical gas and clinical vacuum system installations
shall be designed, installed and certified in accordance with the
requirements of NFPA 99, §4-3 for Level I systems and the requirements
of this clause.
(I) Outlets. Nonflammable medical gas and clinical
vacuum outlets shall be provided in accordance with Table 6 of §134.131(f)
of this title.
(II) Installer qualifications. All installations of
the medical gas piping systems shall be done only by, or under the
direct supervision of a holder of a master plumber license or a journeyman
plumber license with a medical gas piping installation endorsement
issued by the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners.
(III) Installer tests. Prior to closing of walls,
the installer shall perform an initial pressure test, a blowdown test,
a secondary pressure test, a cross-connection test, and a purge of
the piping system as required by NFPA 99.
(IV) Qualifications for conducting verification tests
and inspections. Verification tests and inspections by a party, other
than the installer, shall be conducted by individuals who are technically
competent and experienced in the field of piped medical gas systems.
(V) Verification tests. Upon completion of the installer
inspections and tests and after closing of walls, verification tests
of the medical gas piping systems, the warning system, and the gas
supply source shall be conducted. The verification tests shall include
a cross-connection test, valve test, flow test, piping purge test,
piping purity test, final tie-in test, operational pressure tests,
and medical gas concentration test.
(VI) Verification test requirements. Verification tests
of the medical gas piping system, the warning system, shall be performed
on all new piped medical gas systems, additions, renovations, or repaired
portions of an existing system. All systems that are breached and
components that are added, renovated, or replaced shall be inspected
and appropriately tested. The breached portions of the systems subject
to inspection and testing shall be all of the new and existing components
in the immediate zone or area located upstream of the point or area
of intrusion and downstream to the end of the system or a properly
installed isolation valve.
(VII) Warning system verification tests. Verification
tests of piped medical gas systems shall include tests of the source
alarms and monitoring safeguards, master alarm systems, and the area
alarm systems.
(VIII) Source equipment verification tests. Source
equipment verification tests shall include medical gas supply sources
(bulk and manifold) and the compressed air source systems (compressors,
dryers, filters, and regulators).
(IX) Written certification. Upon successful completion
of all verification tests, written certification for affected piped
medical gas systems and piped medical vacuum systems including the
supply sources and warning systems shall be provided by a party technically
competent and experienced in the field of medical gas pipeline testing
stating that the provisions of NFPA 99 have been adhered to and systems
integrity has been achieved. The written certification shall be submitted
directly to the facility and the installer. A copy shall be forwarded
to the department by the facility.
(X) Facility responsibility. Before new piped medical
gas systems, additions, renovations, or repaired portions of an existing
system are put into use, the facility shall be responsible for ensuring
that the gas delivered at the outlet is the gas shown on the outlet
label and that the proper connecting fittings are checked against
their labels.
(XI) Documentation of medical gas and clinical vacuum
outlets. Documentation of the installed, modified, extended or repaired
medical gas piping system shall be submitted to the department by
the same party certifying the piped medical gas systems. The number
and type of medical gas outlets (oxygen, vacuum, medical air, nitrogen,
nitrous oxide, etc.) shall be documented and arranged tabularly by
room numbers and room types.
(iv) Steam and hot water systems.
(I) Boilers. Boilers shall have the capacity, based
upon the net ratings as published in The I-B-R Ratings Book for Boilers,
Baseboard Radiation and Finned Tube (commercial) by the Hydronics
Institute Division of GAMA, to supply the normal requirements of all
systems and equipment. The number and arrangement of boilers shall
be such that, when one boiler breaks down or routine maintenance
requires that one boiler be temporarily taken out of service, the
capacity of the remaining boiler(s) shall be sufficient to provide
hot water service for clinical, dietary, and patient use, steam for
sterilization and dietary purposes, and heating for emergency, recovery,
treatment, and general patient rooms. However, reserve capacity for
space heating of noncritical care areas (e.g. general patient rooms
and administrative areas) is not required in geographical areas where
a design dry bulb temperature equals 25 degrees Fahrenheit or higher
as based on the 99% design value shown in the Handbook of Fundamentals,
1999 edition, published by ASHRAE, Inc. The document published by
the Hydronics Institute Division of GAMA as referenced in this rule
may be obtained by writing or calling the Hydronics Institute Division
of GAMA, P. O. Box 218, Berkeley Heights, N.J. 07922-0218, telephone
(908) 464-8200.
(II) Boiler accessories. Boiler feed pumps, heating
circulating pumps, condensate return pumps, and fuel oil pumps shall
be connected and installed to provide normal and standby service.
(III) Valves. Supply and return mains and risers of
cooling, heating, and process steam systems shall be valved to isolate
the various sections of each system. Each piece of equipment shall
be valved at the supply and return ends except that vacuum condensate
returns need not be valved at each piece of equipment.
(v) Drainage systems.
(I) Above ground piping. Soil stacks, drains, vents,
waste lines, and leaders installed above ground within buildings shall
be drain-waste-vent (DWV) weight or heavier and shall be: copper pipe,
copper tube, cast iron pipe, or galvanized iron pipe.
Cont'd... |
