# Adding Outlets in an X-ray exam room



## rma1998 (Jun 27, 2010)

Has anyone had to cut in outlets in a Hospital X-ray exam rooms? 

A customer wants us to add outlets and data drops in each of their X-ray exam rooms. They want us to maintain the integrity of the lead lined walls.

I told them we would have to pipe it on the surface or use wiremold. They didn't seem to like that idea.


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## mikeh32 (Feb 16, 2009)

you need to look into the specific rules for xray and hospitals.


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## rma1998 (Jun 27, 2010)

mikeh32 said:


> you need to look into the specific rules for xray and hospitals.


Are you talking about 660? 

"660.1: ......"Nothing in this article shall be construed as specifying safeguards against the useful beam or stay X-ray radiation....."


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## mikeh32 (Feb 16, 2009)

I wish I had my code book infront of me. 

I know for low voltage, I did cat6a


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## Chercoco (Feb 25, 2013)

Would it be possible to come down the wall and use a lead lined cover and electrical box? You ever hear of Ray bar shielded cover plates and electrical boxes?


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

When I did some fire alarm work in a room like this we cut in old work boxes.

After we were done the GC cut the wall open on the opposite side of the box and made lead boxes around our old works. Then they patched the wall.


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## uconduit (Jun 6, 2012)

wash your hands after handling lead though...


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## local134gt (Dec 24, 2008)

Fish the wall like you would any other wall. Then cut open the other side of the wall without the lead backing so that you can wrap your new box with lead. 

Or would they allow you to cut open your hole for your box then reach in the hole and glue a lead patch bigger than your opening to the other side? 

All the X-ray rooms I did only had one side that was lead backed.


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

If you need to drill, use a Star Bit... That's how I do it. You don't have the dust. 
If you need to vacuum, use a HEPA vac. 
One speck of lead dust can equal an unnecessary biopsy...


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## mikeh32 (Feb 16, 2009)

i would think nfpa 99 would help out too


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## kennydmeek (Sep 12, 2009)

uconduit said:


> wash your hands after handling lead though...


Wash your hands? Heck...I spent my whole childhood biting on lead split shot to get it to stay on the fishing line...:blink:


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## JohnR (Apr 12, 2010)

The cat scan rooms I have worked on, all had lead lined sheetrock. We cut in old works like BBQ stated, then on the back side of the wall we had to install larger patches of lead that stuck to the far side sheetrock. 

There was no "box" around our box, it was just a sheet of lead on the far side that was a few inches larger than the cutout we made. Say 4 inches per each side. The x-rays do not curve, they go straight, so you don't have to do the sides of a box I was told.


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## Colorado Fatboy (Apr 25, 2009)

I was doing a cut in box the other day. There was something strange behind the drywall. The guy tells me that that building was once an X ray facility. Basically a lead sheet under the drywall, made putting the f straps in a bit challenging. Lol. Never ran into anything like that before.


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## Chercoco (Feb 25, 2013)

You have to keep the lead lining continuous. They sell lead sheets to keep it continuously lead lined for low voltage and switches. There is a site radiationproducts.com that sell some stuff and for the boxes raybar.com


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

JohnR said:


> There was no "box" around our box, it was just a sheet of lead on the far side that was a few inches larger than the cutout we made. Say 4 inches per each side.


Pretty much the same, maybe a bigger sheet of lead but the GC kind if rough formed it into a bowl shaped piece that covered all sides.


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## rma1998 (Jun 27, 2010)

BBQ said:


> When I did some fire alarm work in a room like this we cut in old work boxes.
> 
> After we were done the GC cut the wall open on the opposite side of the box and made lead boxes around our old works. Then they patched the wall.


Thanks, that's a great idea, I will have to investigate the walls to see if this is a possibility. 

I fear that some of these walls may just have hat channel over a block wall though.


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