As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires,
the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them respectively:
“Health officer”
means that person designated by the Orange County Health
Care Agency, Public Health Division, as the person having responsibility
for the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter.
“Operator”
means any person, whether the proprietor or another person,
administering a tattoo to any customer of a tattooing establishment.
“Proprietor”
means the person having general control and management over
the conduct of business at a tattooing establishment, whether or not
such person is the legal owner of the premises or the business.
“Tattoo”
means an indelible mark or figure fixed upon a body by insertion
of pigment under the skin or by production of scars.
“Tattooing establishment”
means premises used for the business of marking or coloring
the skin with tattoos, and all furnishings, equipment, instrument,
dyes and inks, and other facilities maintained therein incidental
to such use.
(Ord. 94-O-132 § 2, 1994)
It is unlawful for any person, association, firm or corporation to engage in, conduct or carry on, or permit to be engaged in, conducted or carried on, in or upon any premises within the city, the business of a tattoo parlor without prior approval of a use permit per the provisions of Sections
23.33.040,
23.36.040 and Chapter
23.87.
(Ord. 94-O-132 § 2, 1994)
(a) All tattooing establishments shall be equipped with running hot and
cold water, with adequate toilet facilities and with all such appliances,
furnishings and materials as may be necessary to enable persons employed
in and about such establishments to comply with the requirements of
this chapter.
(b) The floors, furnishings and equipment of tattooing establishments
shall be kept clean at all times during business hours. For purposes
of this paragraph a floor shall not be considered clean if it has
not been swept and mopped within the preceding twenty-four (24) hour
period.
(c) All operating tables in tattooing establishments shall be constructed
of metal with white enamel or porcelain finish, or stainless steel.
(d) Each tattooing establishment shall have adequate lighting and ventilation.
For purposes of this paragraph lighting or ventilation shall be considered
as inadequate if it fails to comply with a standard prescribed by
the health officer.
(e) No tattooing establishment shall be used as a sleeping room or dormitory.
(Ord. 94-O-132 § 2, 1994)
(a) Proprietors of tattooing establishments shall, on request of the
health officer, submit in writing to the health officer the source
of all dyes or inks retained for use in tattooing operations, and
thereafter shall notify the health officer in writing of any dyes
or inks obtained for use in tattooing operations from any source other
than those previously submitted.
(b) No dyes or inks from any sources which have been disapproved by the
health officer shall be retained available for use in tattooing operations.
(Ord. 94-O-132 § 2, 1994)
No pigments, dyes, or equipment shall be retained available
for use in tattooing operations unless cleaned and sterilized as provided
in this section. For purposes of the section, equipment shall include
needles, needle tubes, towels, blade holders, wiping cloths, paper
towels and napkins, charcoal, gauze bandages (unless purchased in
individual sterile packages), and all similar items.
(1) All equipment shall be thoroughly cleaned before being sterilized.
Instruments shall be cleaned with soap or detergent by use of a brush.
The interior of needle barrels shall be brushed. After cleaning, equipment
shall be thoroughly rinsed under running fresh tap water.
(2) All equipment shall be sterilized by autoclaving. Each piece of equipment
shall be individually wrapped with paper in an approved method for
autoclaving. Metal foil may not be used. Tattooing needles shall be
threaded through the metal tube that attaches to the tattooing vibrator
and shall be placed in a glass (or autoclavable plastic test tube)
with a cotton plug for autoclaving. Wiping tissues shall be sterilized
in a single pack to be used for one tattoo and then be discarded.
All packs shall be marked with temperature recording tape or labels.
(3) Dyes or inks shall be used from containers with a cap that completely
covers the opening and is attached to the neck of the dye container,
sterilized in an autoclave after first being filled with the dye.
Dye shall be handled utilizing aseptic techniques and the dye containers
filled with dye shall be autoclaved at least once a week or more often
if necessary to keep the dye in a sterile condition. The dyes may
be placed in Teflon squeeze bottles that will withstand autoclaving.
(4) Steam sterilization of the above listed equipment shall be accomplished
in an autoclave with at least fifteen (15) pounds pressure per square
inch (251< F) for at least fifteen (15) minutes. Other means of
sterilization may be approved by the health officer.
(5) All sterilized dyes, pigments and equipment shall be stored in a
manner which will insure sterility at the time of use.
(6) Proprietors shall maintain sufficient sterilized equipment available
at the beginning of each workday to allow completion of such workday
without requiring resterilization of such equipment.
(Ord. 94-O-132 § 2, 1994)
No stencil, whether new or used, shall be retained in a manner
available for use in any tattooing operation unless it has been precleaned
and disinfected in the following manner:
(1) Each stencil must be precleaned by being scrubbed with soap and brush
to the extent necessary to remove all accumulations of carbon and
Vaseline in the etched grooves of the stencil.
(2) Each stencil, after being precleaned and dried, must be disinfected
by being soaked, design-cut side down, in a closed container of seventy
(70) percent alcohol for not less than thirty (30) minutes at room
temperature.
(3) Each stencil, after being disinfected, shall be air dried for not
less than thirty (30) minutes by being suspended in a manner exposing
both sides to the air, and thereafter shall be stored for next use
in a clean envelope.
(Ord. 94-O-132 § 2, 1994)
No tattooing operation shall be performed on skin surface areas
containing any rash, pimples, boils, or infection or otherwise manifesting
any evidence of unhealthy conditions.
(Ord. 94-O-132 § 2, 1994)
The establishment owner shall provide written information as
required by the health officer about blood-borne diseases and their
transmission to all tattoo operators and maintain records to verify
operator receipt of this information. The tattoo operator shall inform
the customer of any potential health risks involved whenever the skin
is violated, as required by the health officer.
(Ord. 94-O-132 § 2, 1994)
No tattooing operations shall be performed unless the operator
is free of communicable diseases and pustular skin lesions.
(Ord. 94-O-132 § 2, 1994)
No operator shall smoke while performing a tattooing operation.
(Ord. 94-O-132 § 2, 1994)
The operator must wear a clean, light-colored, short-sleeved
smock while performing the tattooing operation.
(Ord. 94-O-132 § 2, 1994)
No operator shall perform a tattooing operation with unclean
hands. For purpose of this paragraph hands shall not be considered
clean unless they have been thoroughly washed with soap from a single
service dispenser and warm water vigorously rubbing all surfaces of
lathered hands for at least ten (10) seconds, followed by thorough
rinsing under a stream of water. Hands shall be dried using single
service towels from a dispenser or hot air blower. If a liquid soap
is used, the dispenser shall be cleaned and filled with fresh soap
only when empty.
Tattoo operators shall wear protective gloves while handling
needles or blades, or doing any procedure that may cause bleeding.
Gloves shall be discarded between each customer.
(Ord. 94-O-132 § 2, 1994)
No tattooing operation involving shaving shall be performed
unless the skin is washed with soap prior to the shaving and unless
the blade used in shaving is previously unused and unless the blade
holder has been autoclaved since its previous use.
(Ord. 94-O-132 § 2, 1994)
No tattooing operation shall be performed unless the skin is
adequately prepared prior to the operation. For purposes of this paragraph,
skin shall be considered properly prepared if it is thoroughly washed
with soap following shaving and thereafter scrubbed gently three times
with seventy (70) percent isopropyl alcohol, using a separate sterile
gauze pad each time; and no alternate method of skin preparation shall
be considered adequate unless approved in writing by the health officer.
(Ord. 94-O-132 § 2, 1994)
No tattooing operation involving the use of stencils shall be
performed unless all of the following requirements have been complied
with:
(1) Each stencil must be precleaned pursuant to Section
23.86.060.
(2) Each stencil, having been precleaned, must be wiped with sterile
gauze soaked in seventy (70) percent alcohol and air dried immediately
prior to its use in the tattooing operation.
(3) Petroleum jelly used for stencils must be obtained from a collapsible
tube which has not previously been used in any tattooing operation
and must be applied to the skin with a sterile gauze which has not
previously been used.
(Ord. 94-O-132 § 2, 1994)
No tattooing operation shall be performed using dyes or inks of a type that has been disapproved for use by the health officer pursuant to Section
23.86.040.
(Ord. 94-O-132 § 2, 1994)
No tattooing operation shall be performed unless the following
requirements have been complied with:
(1) The dye or ink used for the tattoo must be obtained from presterilized
dye or ink bottles and, prior to the tattooing operation, aseptically
transferred from such bottles into sterile paper cups which have not
previously been used in any tattooing operation. No refilling of the
dye cup is permitted.
(2) No dye or ink shall be used in which needles used on another person
have been dipped.
(Ord. 94-O-132 § 2, 1994)
No tattooing operation shall be performed using equipment that has not been cleaned and sterilized in the manner set forth in Section
23.86.050.
(Ord. 94-O-132 § 2, 1994)
Operators shall discard the following items immediately after
use in any tattooing operation.
(2) Tubes and gauze used in application of petroleum jelly used for stencils;
(3) Paper cups used for dye or ink.
(Ord. 94-O-132 § 2, 1994)
The county health officer shall periodically make inspections
of tattooing establishments located in the city to determine if the
proprietor or operator of such establishments is complying with the
provisions of this chapter. The county shall, by annual board resolution,
adopt health service fees to be paid by the proprietor or operator
of the tattoo establishment. Such fees to be paid directly to the
county health officer and retained by the county as reimbursement
for said services related to this chapter.
(Ord. 94-O-132 § 2, 1994)
Each of the following acts or omissions shall constitute a misdemeanor
and upon conviction thereof shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed
one thousand dollars ($1,000.00):
(1) Any performance of a tattooing operation by an operator in violation
of any requirement or prohibition imposed by this chapter.
(2) Any failure by a proprietor to maintain a tattooing establishment
in conformity with the requirements of this chapter. For purposes
of this section, each day upon which such a failure to conform occurs
shall constitute a separate violation.
(Ord. 94-O-132 § 2, 1994)