The developments surrounding plenum cable that have bubbled up within National Fire Protection Association (NFPA--www.nfpa.org) panels developing the National Electrical Code will be detailed on the first day of the Cabling Systems Conference-Monday, September 22. Donna Ballast, RCDD, who is an alternate on NFPA Panel 16 and is a monthly columnist for conference organizer Cabling Installation & Maintenance magazine, will detail the goings-on within the Code-making panels that could have significant implications for anyone who installs or uses plenum cable.

Specifically, she will update the prospects of the specification of "air-duct cable," a designation that would, as its name indicates, be given to cables residing in a building's air ducts. She will also track the history and give insight into the future prospects of "limited-combustible" cable, as well as CMP-rated plenum cable.

The National Electrical Code is a wide-ranging fire-safety code that includes some mandates for communications-cabling systems. When adopted by a jurisdiction (state, county, city, etc.), the Code becomes law. The Code is updated on a three-year cycle, and the version currently in progress is the 2005 edition.

Donna Ballast has devoted several of her columns within Cabling Installation & Maintenance to Code activities and analysis. Those columns can be accessed at www.cable-install.com.