Ontario, Calif. (May 15, 2019) —The International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) recently completed Technical Committee Meetings toward the development of the 2021 editions of the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC^®) and Uniform Mechanical Code (UMC^®), in-development American National Standards governing the installation and maintenance of plumbing and mechanical systems nationwide. During the April 29-May 2 meetings at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel, the two committees acted on a total of 265 Comments on previously submitted proposals to amend the 2018 editions of the Uniform Codes.

The UPC Technical Committee acted on 135 public comments and generated one Technical Committee Comment. Topics generating the most debate included rehabilitation of existing building sewers, Legionella risks, drinking water treatment units, and water heaters with temperature limiting devices.

As a result of the work of the UPC TC Legionella Task Group, three Comments were deliberated by the Technical Committee to address mitigation of the waterborne pathogen and associated scald risk provisions in the appendices of the UPC. After some discussion, the UPC Technical Committee accepted the Public Comment resulting in a proposed new Appendix N (Impact of Water Temperature on the Potential for Scalding and Legionella Growth).

The UMC Technical Committee acted on 126 public comments and generated three Technical Committee Comments. A2L systems and duct systems were hotly debated, with numerous A2L refrigerants Comments submitted. The committee expressed concern about the amount of research still needed for A2L systems. Other topics discussed included automatic makeup water supply fill devices for hydronic systems, type II hoods, and environmental air.

The UMC Technical Committee commissioned a Legionella Task Group be formed to address within the UMC exposure risk to the public from mechanical equipment. This task group will tackle the issue of control and intervention of legionella associated with mechanical systems.

As an ANSI Audited Designator, in accordance with IAPMO’s American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited Regulations Governing Committee Projects, balloting of the consensus bodies, the UPC and UMC Technical Committees, will open on May 17 and conclude on June 7. The Report on Comments (ROC) for each document will be created from these balloted actions and distributed to committee members on Aug. 21. All consensus body action will be published in the ROC and will be available for public review.

IAPMO gathers the largest assembly of plumbing and mechanical experts in the world at its annual Education and Business Conference and Technical Committee Meetings, enabling anyone, members and non-members alike, to have a voice on proposed changes to the code. The 90th annual Education and Business Conference will take place Sept. 22-26 at the Silver Legacy Resort in Reno, Nevada. Allowable motions during Technical Committee Meetings are governed in accordance with Section 4-5 of the Regulations Governing Committee Projects. IAPMO urges its members and other interested parties to get involved in the code development process to ensure effectiveness in preserving the public health, safety, and welfare through fair and balanced development of the Uniform Codes.   

For specific information about the UPC, please contact Enrique Gonzalez at (909) 230-5535 or email your questions to enrique.gonzalez@iapmo.org. For the UMC, contact Zalmie Hussein at (909) 218-8122 or email your questions to zalmie.hussein@iapmo.org.