I have an issue that comes up occasionally, where engineers want to put vacuum inlets into decon or scope rooms. In practicality I believe its a bad idea, but since “5.1.3.5.2 Permitted Locations for Medical Gases” doesn’t mention vacuum, I’ve had it argued that’s ok. I’ve used “5.1.14.3.3 Liquid or debris shall not be introduced into the medical–surgical vacuum for disposal.” and “5.1.14.3.4 The medical–surgical vacuum and WAGD systems shall not be used for nonmedical applications” to counter the argument. But of course “nonmedical” has some room for interpretation, and with support gases, SPD and scope rooms are considered a medical support application.

Curious if there is any talk about adding vacuum to 5.1.3.5.2? I don’t like the idea of vacuum inlets anywhere not directly used with patient care as there is a chance of misuse. Over the years, I’ve personally seen vacuum misused in SPD. I’ve seen hoses directly attached to adapters that were used to suck up liquid.