Whereas body art is becoming prevalent and popular throughout
the commonwealth; and whereas knowledge and practice of universal
precautions, sanitation, personal hygiene, sterilization and aftercare
requirements on the part of the practitioner should be demonstrated
to prevent the transmission of disease or injury to the client and/or
practitioner; now, therefore the Board of Health of the Town of Lancaster
passes these rules and regulations for the practice of body art in
the Town of Lancaster as part of its mission to protect the health,
safety and welfare of the public.
These regulations are promulgated under the authority granted
to the Board of Health under MGL c. 111, § 31.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
AFTERCARE
Written instructions given to the client, specific to the
body art procedure(s) rendered, about caring for the body art and
surrounding area, including information about when to seek medical
treatment, if necessary.
APPLICANT
Any person who applies to the Board of Health for either
a body art establishment permit or practitioner permit.
AUTOCLAVE
An apparatus for sterilization utilizing steam pressure at
a specific temperature over a period of time.
AUTOCLAVING
A process which results in the destruction of all forms of
microbial life, including highly resistant spores, by the use of an
autoclave for a minimum of 30 minutes at 20 pounds of pressure (PSI)
at a temperature of 270° F.
BOARD OF HEALTH or BOARD
The Board of Health that has jurisdiction in the community
in which a body art establishment is located, including the Board
or officer having like powers and duties in towns where there is no
Board of Health.
BODY ART
The practice of physical body adornment by permitted establishments
and practitioners using, but not limited to, the following techniques:
body piercing, tattooing, cosmetic tattooing, branding, and scarification.
This definition does not include practices that are considered medical
procedures by the Board of Registration in Medicine, such as implants
under the skin, which are prohibited procedures.
BODY ART ESTABLISHMENT or ESTABLISHMENT
The location, place, or business that has been granted a
permit by the Board, whether public or private, where the practices
of body art are performed, whether or not for profit.
BODY ART PRACTITIONER or PRACTITIONER
A specifically identified individual who has been granted
a permit by the Board to perform body art in an establishment that
has been granted a permit by the Board.
BODY PIERCING
Puncturing or penetrating the skin of a client with presterilized
single-use needles and the insertion of presterilized jewelry or other
adornment in the opening. This definition excludes piercing of the
earlobe with a presterilized single-use stud-and-clasp system manufactured
exclusively for ear piercing.
BRAIDING
The cutting of strips of skin of a person, which strips are
then to be intertwined with one another and placed onto such person
so as to cause or allow the incised and interwoven strips of skin
to heal in such intertwined condition.
BRANDING
Inducing a pattern of scar tissue by use of a heated material
(usually metal) to the skin, making a serious burn, which eventually
becomes a scar.
CLEANING AREA
The area in a body art establishment used in the sterilization,
sanitation or other cleaning of instruments or other equipment used
for the practice of body art.
CLIENT
A member of the public who requests a body art procedure
at a body art establishment.
CONTAMINATED WASTE
Waste as defined in 105 CMR 480.000, Storage and Disposal
of Infectious or Physically Dangerous Medical or Biological Waste,
State Sanitary Code, Chapter VIII and/or 29 CFR 1910.1030, infectious
material; contaminated items that would release blood or other potentially
infectious material in a liquid or semi-liquid state if compressed;
items on which there is dried blood or other potentially infectious
material and which are capable of releasing these materials during
handling; sharps and any wastes containing blood or other potentially
infectious materials.
COSMETIC TATTOOING
Also known as permanent cosmetics, micropigment implantation
or dermal pigmentation, means the implantation of permanent pigment
around the eyes, lips and cheeks of the face and hair imitation.
DISINFECTANT
A product registered as a disinfectant by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA).
DISINFECTION
The destruction of disease-causing microorganisms on inanimate
objects or surfaces, thereby rendering these objects safe for use
or handling.
EAR PIERCING
The puncturing of the lobe of the ear with a presterilized
single-use stud-and-clasp ear-piercing system following the manufacturer's
instruction.
EQUIPMENT
All machinery, including fixtures, containers, vessels, tools,
devices, implements, furniture, display and storage areas, sinks and
all other apparatus and appurtenances used in connection with the
operation of a body art establishment.
EXPOSURE
An event whereby there is an eye, mouth or other mucus membrane,
nonintact skin or parenteral contact with the blood or bodily fluids
of another person or contact of an eye, mouth or other mucous membrane,
non-intact skin or parenteral contact with other potentially infectious
matter.
HAND SINK
A lavatory equipped with hot and cold running water under
pressure, used solely for washing hands, arms or other portions of
the body.
HOT WATER
Water that attains and maintains a temperature 110° F.
to 130° F.
INSTRUMENTS USED FOR BODY ART
Hand pieces, needles, needle bars, and other instruments
that may come in contact with a client's body or may be exposed to
bodily fluids during any body art procedure.
INVASIVE
Entry into the client's body either by incision or insertion
of any instruments into or through the skin or mucosa, or by any other
means intended to puncture, break, or otherwise compromise the skin
or mucosa.
JEWELRY
Any ornament inserted into a newly pierced area, which must
be made of surgical implant-grade stainless steel; solid 14k or 18k
white or yellow gold, niobium, titanium, or platinum; or a dense,
low-porosity plastic, which is free of nicks, scratches, or irregular
surfaces and has been properly sterilized prior to use.
MINOR
Any person under the age of 18 years.
MOBILE BODY ART ESTABLISHMENT
Any trailer, truck, car, van, camper or other motorized or
nonmotorized vehicle, a shed, tent, movable structure, bar, home or
other facility therein, or concert, fair, party or other event.
OPERATOR
Any person who individually or jointly or severally with
others owns, or controls, an establishment, but is not a body art
practitioner.
PERMIT
Board approval in writing to either (1) operate a body art
establishment or (2) operate as a body art practitioner within a body
art establishment. Board approval shall be granted solely for the
practice of body art pursuant to these regulations. Said permit is
exclusive of the establishment's compliance with other licensing or
permitting requirements that may exist within the Board's jurisdiction.
PERSON
An individual, any form of business or social organization
or any other non-governmental legal entity, including but not limited
to corporations, partnerships, limited-liability companies, associations,
trusts or unincorporated organizations.
PHYSICIAN
An individual licensed as a qualified physician by the Board
of Registration in Medicine pursuant to MGL c. 112, § 2.
PROCEDURE SURFACE
Any surface of an inanimate object that contacts the client's
unclothed body during a body art procedure, skin preparation of the
area adjacent to and including the body art procedure, or any associated
work area which may require sanitizing.
SANITARY
Clean and free of agents of infection or disease.
SANITIZE
The application of a U.S. EPA-registered sanitizer on a cleaned
surface in accordance with the label instructions.
SCARIFICATION
Altering skin texture by cutting the skin and controlling
the body's healing process in order to produce wounds, which result
in permanently raised wheals or bumps known as "keloids."
SHARPS
Any object, sterile or contaminated, that may intentionally
or accidentally cut or penetrate the skin or mucosa, including, but
not limited to, needle devices, lancets, scalpel blades, razor blades,
and broken glass.
SHARPS CONTAINER
A puncture-resistant, leak-proof container that can be closed
for handling, storage, transportation, and disposal and that is labeled
with the international biohazard symbol.
SINGLE USE ITEMS
Products or items that are intended for one-time, one-person
use and are disposed of after use on each client, including, but not
limited to, cotton swabs or balls, tissues or paper products, paper
or plastic cups, gauze and sanitary coverings, razors, piercing needles,
scalpel blades, stencils, ink cups, and protective gloves.
STERILIZE
The use of a physical or chemical procedure to destroy all
microbial life, including highly resistant bacterial endospores.
TATTOO
The indelible mark, figure or decorative design introduced
by insertion of dyes or pigments into or under the subcutaneous portion
of the skin.
TATTOOING
Any method of placing ink or other pigment into or under
the skin or mucosa by the aid of needles or any other instrument used
to puncture the skin, resulting in permanent coloration of the skin
or mucosa. This term includes all forms of cosmetic tattooing.
THREE DIMENSIONAL "3D" BODY ART OR BEADING OR IMPLANTATION
The form of body art consisting of or requiring the placement,
injection or insertion of an object, device or other thing made of
matters such as steel, titanium, rubber, latex, plastic, glass or
other inert materials beneath the surface of the skin of a person.
This term does not include body piercing.
ULTRASONIC CLEANING UNIT
A unit approved by the Board, physically large enough to
fully submerge instruments in liquid, which removes all foreign matter
from the instruments by means of high-frequency oscillations transmitted
through the contained liquid.
UNIVERSAL PRECAUTIONS
A set of guidelines and controls, published by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as Guidelines for Prevention
of Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis
B Virus (HBV) to Health-Care and Public-Safety Workers in Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), June 23, 1989, Vol. 38 No. S-6,
and as Recommendations for Preventing Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency
Virus and Hepatitis B Virus to Patients During Exposure-Prone Invasive
Procedures in MMWR, July 12, 1991, Vol. 40, No. RR-8. This method
of infection control requires the employer and the employee to assume
that all human blood and specified human body fluids are infectious
for HIV, HBV, and other blood pathogens. Precautions include hand
washing; gloving; personal protective equipment; injury prevention;
and proper handling and disposal of needles, other sharp instruments,
and blood and body fluid-contaminated products.
Unless otherwise ordered or approved by the Board, each body
art establishment shall be constructed, operated and maintained to
meet the following minimum requirements.
The establishment shall maintain the following records in a
secure place for a minimum of three years, and such records shall
be made available to the Board upon request.
A. Establishment information:
(3) Owner's name and address.
(4) A complete description of all body art procedures performed.
(5) An inventory of all instruments and body jewelry, all sharps, and
all inks used for any and all body art procedures, including names
of manufacturers and serial or lot numbers, if applicable. Invoices
or packing slips shall satisfy this requirement.
(6) A material safety data sheet, when available, for each ink and dye
used by the establishment.
(7) Copies of waste hauler manifests.
(8) Copies of commercial biological monitoring tests.
(9) Exposure incident report (kept permanently).
(10)
A copy of these regulations.
B. Employee information:
(1) Full legal names and exact duties;
(5) Identification photograph;
(7) Hepatitis B vaccination status; and
C. Client information:
(2) Age and valid photo identification;
(5) Name of the practitioner who performed the procedure(s);
(6) Description of procedure(s) performed and the location on the body;
(7) A signed consent form as specified by §
303-57; and, if the client is person under the age of 18, proof of parental or guardian identification, presence and consent, including a copy of the photographic identification of the parent or guardian.
D. Client information shall be kept confidential at all times.
Practitioners are required to comply with the following minimum
health standards:
A. A practitioner shall perform all body art procedures in accordance
with universal precautions set forth by the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
B. A practitioner shall refuse service to any person who may be under
the influence of alcohol or drugs.
C. Practitioners who use ear-piercing systems must conform to the manufacturer's
directions for use, and to applicable U.S. Food and Drug Administration
requirements. No practitioner shall use an ear-piercing system on
any part of the client's body other than the lobe of the ear.
A written report of any injury, infection complication or disease
as a result of a body art procedure, or complaint of injury, infection
complication or disease, shall be forwarded by the operator to the
Board which issued the permit, with a copy to the injured client within
five working days of its occurrence or knowledge thereof. The report
shall include:
A. The name of the affected client;
B. The name and location of the body art establishment involved;
C. The nature of the injury, infection complication or disease;
D. The name and address of the affected client's health care provider,
if any;
E. Any other information considered relevant to the situation.
The Board may summarily suspend a permit pending a final hearing
on the merits on the question of revocation if, based on the evidence
before it, the Board determines that an establishment and/or a practitioner
is an immediate and serious threat to the public health, safety or
welfare. The suspension of a permit shall take effect immediately
upon written notice of such suspension by the Board.