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National codes take technical changes to public review in Spring of 2006
Archer, J. W.
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A version of this document is published in / Une version de ce document se trouve dans: Journal of the Ontario Building Officials Association, no. 69, March 2006, pp. 30-31
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National Codes Take Technical Changes to Public Review in Spring of 2006 By John Archer
Secretary
Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes
Journal of the Ontario Building Officials Association
This article reviews issues surrounding three technical changes to the National Construction Codes that will be subjected to public review in the spring of 2006. Hot Water Delivery in Buildings
The 18th meeting of the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes (CCBFC)
took place in Québec City on 29 – 30 January 2006. There, technical changes to the 2005 National Plumbing Code (NPC) addressing the delivery of hot water at fixtures in
buildings constituted an important agenda item.
Attempts to find a national consensus on hot water delivery at fixtures have been complex and difficult. Ontario building officials may recall that proposed technical changes to the 1995 NPC addressing hot water temperatures were release for public review in 2003. The scope of the technical changes were limited to residential occupancies and applied to all fixtures except dishwashers and washing machines. Public comment was dealt with by the CCBFC Standing Committee on Building and Plumbing Services (SCBPS) and some adjustments to the technical changes were made. However, when the CCBFC met in April 2004 to approve these technical changes for incorporation in the 2005 national model codes, it was informed that new concerns about the risk of legionella bacteria growth in hot water storage tanks had arisen. Approval of the technical changes was postponed until these concerns could be resolved.
The concerns could not be resolved in time for inclusion of the technical changes in the 2005 NPC. Because of their complexity, the CCBFC formed a national task group to consult with concerned stakeholders and recommend a resolution. This work was undertaken during the early part of 2005. The task group delivered its recommendations to the SCBPS in June 2005. The recommendations included requirements for minimum temperature settings for service hot water heaters, and limitations on hot water delivery temperature to showers, bathtubs and lavatories (sinks for washing hands) in all
buildings.
The SCBPS accepted these recommendations and further recommended to the CCBFC that they be treated as urgent, that is, to have the status of “Interim Changes” to the 2005 NPC.
At its 18th meeting, the CCBFC was informed that the provinces and territories agreed to
treat the recommended technical changes as Interim Changes, and requested that they be subjected to full public review. However, the CCBFC also heard that there had not been
clear consensus at the standing committee meeting on the inclusion of lavatories in the technical change. The Commission was concerned that this lack of consensus might be reflected in significant negative comment during public review. One of the requirements for Interim Changes is that if they do receive significant negative comment they cannot proceed. If this should happen, then the whole “package” of technical changes dealing with hot water delivery would fail and be sent back to the SCBPS for further
consideration and they would have to wait until the next available public review.
The Commission agreed, therefore, that technical changes for lavatories be separated out from the other technical changes. The Commission further agreed that both sets of technical changes be issued for full public review as soon as possible.
ASME/CSA B 125
In addition to the proposed Interim Changes dealing with hot water delivery to fixtures, the Commission also agreed to take two additional proposed Interim Changes to public review at the same time. One of these is also for the 2005 NPC and it is to reference standard ASME/CSA B125. The CSA B125 standard dealing with plumbing supply and waste fittings has been harmonized with the ASME standards with similar scope.
Referencing the ASME/CSA B125 standard will complete the harmonization process. ASTM 2190
The last proposed Interim Change to go to public review is a “carryover” from the last
code cycle. At its 16th meeting, held in April 2004, the CCBFC did not agree to an
Interim Change requested by the Insulating Glass Manufacturers Alliance. This request was to add a reference to Part 9 of the National Building Code of a new ASTM E 2190 standard, in addition to an existing CGSB standard, that would facilitate the industry’s certification of products for a North America-wide market. The Commission did request, however, that the matter be treated as a priority during the next code cycle and that it should go to public review at the earliest opportunity.
Public Review in May – June 2006
It is expected that the public review will take place in May – June 2006. Information on the proposed technical changes will be posted on the national codes web site
(nationalcodes.ca) for two months and the public asked to comment. Comments will be reviewed by the affected standing committees in the fall of 2006. The CCBFC will consider the report and recommendations of the standing committees at its next meeting planned for late November or early December 2006.
Further information about the Commission and these proposed Interim Changes can be obtained by contacting the Canadian Codes Centre.
_________________________
John Archer is with the Canadian Codes Centre at the NRC Institute for Research in Construction.
