[HISTORY: Adopted by the Commissioners of
the Town of Dewey Beach 9-7-1984 as § 1060 of the 1984 Code. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Licensing of businesses — See Ch. 117.
A.
No person shall engage in or carry on the business
of operating a tattoo or body piercing establishment unless that person
or entity (hereinafter "licensee") has:
(1)
A valid certification from a licensed medical facility
or is authorized to practice medicine or osteopathic medicine pursuant
to the laws of the State of Delaware; or
(2)
Evidence that a duly licensed physician or osteopathic
practitioner has been retained by the licensee, provided that such
retained physician or osteopath shall maintain an office within five
miles of the place of business of the licensee and shall maintain
office hours or be on call at all hours that the licensee is open
for business; and
B.
No person shall engage in or carry on the business
of operating a tattoo or body piercing establishment unless that person
or entity (hereinafter "licensee") has been issued a valid permit
by Town pursuant to the provisions of this chapter for each and every
separate office or place of business conducted by such person within
the Town.
Any person desiring a permit to operate a tattoo
or body piercing establishment shall file a written application with
the Town Manager on a form to be furnished by the Town Manager. The
applicant shall accompany the application with a tender of the correct
permit fee, as hereinafter provided and shall, in addition, furnish
the following:
A.
The type of ownership of the business, i.e., whether
individual, partnership, corporation or otherwise.
B.
The name, style and designation under which the business
or practice is to be conducted.
C.
The business address and all telephone numbers of
the business to be conducted.
D.
The following personal information concerning the
applicant, if an individual, and concerning each stockholder holding
more than 10% of the stock of the corporation, each officer and each
director, if the applicant is a corporation, and concerning the partners,
including limited partners, if the applicant is a partnership, and
concerning the manager or other person principally in charge of the
operation of the business.
E.
Certificate or other written proof that the physician or osteopath is authorized to practice medicine or osteopathic medicine, as the case may be, within the State of Delaware or certification that the licensee has retained the services of a physician or osteopath as required by § 165-2A(2) herein above.
F.
Certificate or other written proof that a physician, osteopath, or registered nurse has been retained by the licensee to conduct weekly inspections pursuant to § 165-2A(3).
G.
Authorization for the Town, its agents and employees
to seek information and conduct an investigation into the truth of
the statements set forth in the application on the qualifications
of the applicant for the permit.
H.
The names and addresses of three adult residents of
the county who will serve as character references. These references
must be persons other than relatives and business associates.
I.
Written declaration by the applicant, under penalty
of perjury, that the information contained in the application is true
and correct, with said declaration being duly dated and signed in
the Town.
Any person desiring a permit to perform tattoos
or engage in body piercing shall file a written application with the
Town Manager on a form to be furnished by the Town Manager. The applicant
shall tender with the application the correct permit fee, as hereinafter
provided, and shall, in addition, furnish the following:
A.
The business address and all telephone numbers where
the tattoo or body piercing establishment is to be operated.
B.
The following personal information concerning the
applicant:
(1)
Name, and complete residence address, and residence
telephone numbers.
(2)
The two previous addresses immediately prior to the
present address of the applicant.
(3)
Written proof of age.
(4)
Height, weight and color of hair and eyes.
(5)
Name, complete residence address and residence and
all official telephone numbers of the physician or osteopath who is
to be in charge of the tattoo or body piercing establishment.
(6)
A statement, in writing, from a licensed physician
or osteopath who is to be in charge of the tattoo or body piercing
establishment, that he has examined the applicant within 30 days of
the date of the application and believes the applicant to be free
of all communicable diseases.
C.
Authorization for the Town, its agent and employees
to seek information and conduct an investigation into the truth of
the statements set forth in the application and the qualifications
of the applicant for the permit.
D.
Written declaration by the applicant, under penalty
of perjury, that the information contained in the application is true
and correct, with said application being duly dated.
A.
Upon receiving the application for a tattoo or body
piercing establishment or for a permit to do tattooing or body piercing,
the Town Manager shall review the application.
B.
In the case of applications for a tattoo or body piercing
establishment permit, the Town Manager shall conduct or cause to be
conducted an investigation of the premises where the tattoo or body
piercing establishment is to be located for the purpose of assuring
that the premises comply with all the sanitation requirements set
forth in this chapter and with all due regard of public health, safety
and welfare.
C.
Before any permit shall be issued under this chapter,
the Town Manager shall first sign his approval of the application.
The Town Manager shall issue a tattoo or body
piercing establishment permit within 45 days of receipt of the application,
unless he finds that:
A.
The correct permit fee has not been tendered to the
Town and, in the case of a check or bank draft, honored with payment
upon presentation.
B.
The operation, as proposed by the applicant, if permitted,
would not comply with all applicable laws, including but not limited
to the Town's building, zoning and health regulations.
C.
The applicant has knowingly made any false, misleading
or fraudulent statement of fact in the application for the permit
or in any document required by the Town in connection therewith.
D.
The applicant has operated a tattoo or body piercing
establishment and has had a license denied, revoked or suspended for
any of the above causes by the Town or any other state or local agency
within two years prior to the date of the application.
E.
The applicant, if an individual, or any of the officers
and directors, if the applicant is a corporation, or any of the partners,
including limited partners, if the applicant is a partnership, and
the manager or other person principally in charge of the operation
of the business is not over the age of 21 years.
F.
The manager or other person principally in charge of the operation of the tattoo or body piercing establishment is not a physician or osteopath licensed to practice medicine or osteopathic medicine, as the case may be, pursuant to the laws of the State of Delaware or the licensee has not retained the services of a physician or osteopath as required by § 165-2A(2) herein above.
G.
The manager or other person principally in charge of the operation of the tattoo or body piercing establishment has not retained or has failed to retain the services of a duly licensed physician, osteopathic practitioner, or registered nurse to conduct an inspection of the licensed premises on a weekly basis to certify compliance with the § 165-11 herein below.
The tattoo or body piercing establishment licensee
shall display its permit and that of each and every person employed
in the establishment in an open and conspicuous place on the premises
of the tattoo or body piercing establishment.
The permit fee for a tattoo or body piercing establishment and for each person employed on the premises who will do tattooing or body piercing shall be as established in Chapter 117, Licensing of Businesses, Article I. If a premises has both body piercing and tattooing, there shall be a separate fee for body piercing as well as tattooing. In addition to the permit fee identified herein above, the licensee shall be required to pay for the costs of inspection of a duly licensed physician, osteopathic practitioner, or registered nurse to conduct an inspection of the licensed premises on a weekly basis as required pursuant to § 165-11 herein below.
Any permit issued pursuant to this chapter shall
be subject to suspension or revocation by the Town Manager for violation
of any provision of this chapter or for any grounds that would warrant
the denial or issuance of such permit in the first place. The Town
Manager, upon such revocation or suspension, shall state his reasons
in writing, specifying the particular grounds for such revocation
or suspension.
No tattoo or body piercing establishment permit
shall be transferable, separable or divisible, and such authority
as a permit confers shall be conferred only on the permittee named
therein.
Each tattoo or body piercing establishment shall
comply with the following requirements:
A.
The room in which tattooing or body piercing is done
shall have an area of not less than 100 square feet. The walls, floors
and ceilings shall have an impervious, smooth and washable surface.
B.
A water closet shall be located in the establishment
and shall be accessible at all times that the tattoo or body piercing
establishment is open for business. The lavatory shall be supplied
with hot and cold running water, soap and sanitary towels.
C.
All tables and other equipment shall be constructed
of easily cleanable material, shall be painted or finished in a light
color with a smooth, washable finish and shall be separated from waiting
customers or observers by a panel at least six feet or 1.83 meters
high or by a door.
D.
The entire premises and equipment shall be maintained
in a clean, sanitary condition and in good repair.
E.
The operator who shall apply the tattoo or perform
the body piercing shall wash his\her hands thoroughly with soap and
water before starting to tattoo or body pierce. The hands shall be
dried with individual, single-use towels.
F.
No tattooing or body piercing shall be done on any
skin surface that has a rash, pimples, boils or infections or manifests
any evidence of any other unhealthy condition.
G.
No skin area shall be penetrated, abraded or treated
with chemicals for the purpose of removing, camouflaging or altering
any blemish, birthmark, scar or tattoo.
H.
Only safety razors with a new blade for each customer
or patron may be used and shall be properly disposed of pursuant to
the requirements of this section.
I.
The area to be tattooed or body pierced shall first
be thoroughly washed for a period of two minutes with warm water to
which has been added an antiseptic liquid soap. A sterile, single-use
sponge shall be used to scrub the area. After shaving and before tattooing
has begun, a solution of 70% alcohol shall be applied to the area
with a single-use sponge used and applied with a sterile instrument.
J.
Only petroleum jelly in collapsible metal or plastic
tubes, or its equivalent shall be used on the area to be tattooed,
and it shall be applied with sterile gauze.
K.
The use of styptic pencils, alum blocks or other solid
styptic to check the flow of blood is prohibited.
L.
Inquiry shall be made, and anyone giving a history
of recent jaundice or hepatitis shall not be tattooed or body pierced.
M.
Single-service or individual containers of dye or
ink shall be used for each patron, and the container therefor shall
be discarded immediately after completing work on a patron, and any
dye in which the needles were dipped shall not be used on another
person. Excess dye or ink shall be removed from the skin with an individual
sterile sponge or a disposable paper tissue which shall be used only
on one person and then immediately discarded. After completing work
on any person, the tattooed area shall be washed with sterile gauze
and saturated with an antiseptic soap solution or a seventy-percent
alcohol solution. The tattooed area shall be allowed to dry, and petroleum
jelly from a collapsible or plastic tube shall be applied, using sterile
gauze. A sterile gauze dressing shall then be fastened to the tattooed
area with adhesive.
N.
All clean and ready-to-use needles and instruments
shall be kept in a closed glass or metal case or storage cabinet when
not in use. Such cabinets shall be maintained in a sanitary manner
at all times.
O.
A steam sterilizer (autoclave) shall be provided for
sterilizing all equipment and instruments before use on any patron.
Sterilization of equipment shall be accomplished by exposure to live
steam for at least 30 minutes at a minimum pressure of 15 pounds per
square inch at a temperature of 240° F. or 116° C.
P.
The instruments required to be sterilized shall be
so used, handled and temporarily placed during tattooing or body piercing
that they will not be contaminated.
Q.
A new pair of disposable latex gloves shall be worn
with any procedure that involves contact with a patron.
R.
No body piercing or tattooing of the tongue shall
be permitted.
S.
Immediately after piercing or tattooing, the patron
shall be advised on the care of the site so body pierced or tattooed
and to consult a physician at the first sign of infection.
T.
Forceps, accessory equipment and all operator's jewelry
must be disinfected with a chemical disinfectant approved by the United
States Food and Drug being tuberculocidal when used at recommended
dilutions.
U.
Needles shall not be bent or broken prior to disposal.
Operator shall take precautions to prevent injuries from contaminated
needles.
V.
Needles shall be disposed of directly into a solid
puncture-resistant container.
W.
Needles as well as gloves, gauze and other materials
exposed to patrons' or operators' blood or used in the tattooing and
piercing process shall be placed into sealable plastic containers
specifically designated and labeled for medical hazardous waste disposal
prior to off-site disposal. A written agreement for disposal of such
waste shall be with an authorized service for disposal of medical
waste and a copy of said written agreement shall be provided to the
Town Manager.
Each tattoo or body piercing establishment shall
maintain permanent records for each patron. Before the tattooing or
body piercing operation begins, the patron shall be required personally
to enter on a record form provided for such establishments the date,
his or her name, his or her address, his or her age and his or her
signature. The records shall also provide that the patron does not
have any jaundice or hepatitis and if so, the date of such jaundice
or hepatitis. Such records shall be maintained in the tattoo or body
piercing establishment and shall be available for examination by the
Town Manager. Such records shall be maintained by the tattoo or body
piercing establishment for a period of not less than two years.
No patron having any skin infection or any disease
of the skin or any communicable disease whatsoever shall be tattooed.
All infections resulting from the practice of tattooing or body piercing
which become known to the tattooing or body piercing establishment
shall be promptly reported to the Town Manager by the operator of
the tattoo or body piercing establishment, and the infected patron
shall be referred immediately to a physician.
All pigments, dyes, colors and any other material used in tattooing shall be sterile and free from bacteria, virus particles and noxious agents and substances, and the pigments, dyes and colors used from stock solutions for each patron shall be placed in a single-service receptacle, and such receptacle and remaining solution shall be discarded as provided in § 165-11W herein above after use on each patron.
All bandages and surgical dressings used in connection with the tattooing or body piercing of a person shall be sterile and shall be discarded as provided in § 165-11W herein above after use on each patron.
No tattoo or body piercing shall be performed
on any person under the age of 18 years, unless accompanied by a parent
or legal guardian.
No person shall sell, give, dispense, provide
or keep or cause to be sold, given, dispensed, provided or kept any
alcoholic beverage on the premises of any tattoo or body piercing
establishments,
Any person, firm or corporation violating any
of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $50 nor
more than $200 for each offense, and for the purposes of this chapter,
a separate offense shall be deemed to be committed on each day during
or on which a violation occurs or continues. Notwithstanding the above
provisions, the Town may take action in any court of competent jurisdiction
to restrain or cause the termination of any operation or establishment
not in compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
The health, safety, and welfare provisions of
this chapter shall apply to any operation or establishment that is
engaged in the activities described herein above, and no exemptions
from the provisions of this chapter for preexisting operations or
enterprises shall be in effect at the time of adoption of this chapter.
