Chapter 13 — HEALTH CARE FACILITIES AND MEDICAL GAS AND MEDICAL VACUUM SYSTEMS
1306.4 Components — 2025 California Plumbing Code
California Plumbing Code (Title 24, Part 5) · 2025 edition · updated 2026-09-25 · California
CBSC: official editions, supplements and errata
Italicized text is a California amendment to the model code, as printed in the official publication.
Cite as: 2025 California Plumbing Code (Title 24, Part 5) § 1306.4 · Effective January 1, 2026 · Official source: Building Standards Commission
Functioning of alarm components shall be verified in accordance with the testing and monitoring requirements of the manufacturer and the Authority Having Jurisdiction.
TABLE 1305.2
MINIMUM FLOW RATES (cubic feet per minute)
| MEDICAL SYSTEM | FLOW RATE |
|---|---|
Oxygen |
0.71 CFM per outlet1 |
Nitrous Oxide |
0.71 CFM per outlet1 |
Medical Compressed Air |
0.71 CFM per outlet1 |
Nitrogen |
15 CFM free air per outlet |
Vacuum |
1 SCFM per inlet2 |
Carbon Dioxide |
0.71 CFM per outlet1 |
Helium |
0.71 CFM per outlet |
For SI units: 1 cubic foot per minute (CFM) = 0.47 L/s
Notes: 1 A room designed for a permanently located respiratory ventilator or anesthesia machine shall have an outlet capable of a flow rate of 6.36 CFM (3.0 L/s) at the station outlet. 2 For testing and certification purposes, individual station inlets shall be capable of a flow rate of 3 SCFM (1.4 L/s), while maintaining a system pressure of not less than 12 inches of mercury (41 kPa) at the nearest adjacent vacuum inlet.
HEALTH CARE FACILITIES AND MEDICAL GAS AND MEDICAL VACUUM SYSTEMS
TABLE 1305.3
MINIMUM OUTLETS AND INLETS PER STATION
| LOCATION | OXYGEN | MEDICAL VACUUM |
MEDICAL AIR |
NITROUS OXIDE |
NITROGEN | HELIUM | CARBON DIOXIDE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patient rooms for medical/ obstetrics, and pediatrics |
1/bed | 1/bed | 1/bed | — | — | — | — |
| Examination/ |
1/bed | 1/bed | — | — | — | — | — |
| Intensive care (all) | 3/bed | 3/bed | 2/bed | — | — | — | — |
| Nursery1 | 2/bed | 2/bed | 1/bed | — | — | — | — |
| General operating rooms | 2/room | 3/room4 | 2/room | 1/room | 1/room | — | — |
| Cystoscopic and special invasive procedures |
2/room | 3/room4 | 2/room | — | — | — | — |
| Recovery delivery and labor/ |
2/bed 2/room |
2/bed 3/room4 |
1/bed 1/room |
— | — | — | — |
| Labor rooms | 1/bed | 1/bed | 1/bed | — | — | — | — |
| First aid and emergency treatment3 | 1/bed | 1/bed4 | 1/bed | — | — | — | — |
| Autopsy | — | 1/station | 1/station | — | — | — | — |
| Anesthesia workroom | 1/station | — | 1/station | — | — | — | — |
Notes: 1 Includes pediatric nursery. 2 Includes obstetric recovery. 3 Emergency trauma rooms used for surgical procedures shall be classified as general operating rooms. 4 Vacuum inlets required are in addition to inlets used as part of a scavenging system for removal of anesthetizing gases.
Part II – Category 1 Piped Gas and Vacuum Systems.
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