760-1410, Work Room

1. Each body art establishment shall have its workroom(s) physically separate and apart from waiting and all other areas. The workroom shall not be used as a corridor for access to other rooms. Only patrons or customers actually receiving body art procedures and staff are allowed in said room.

Body artists petition the Board to recognize the long, safe and historic tradition of tattooing and piercing in open areas not separate and apart from other areas of the establishment. This open layout comes from a century of tattoo experience and contributes to a shared experience and bond among the tattooed that unites them, contributes to social harmony among friends, among family and loved ones. It's impossible to count how many hands have been squeezed in encouragement, how many cheers have erupted from friends and the delight on the faces of those who have completed the ordeal. It is part of the positive experience of tattoo just like walking down the isle and other social rituals. Shops can and do make provision for private areas but more often the real reason is the artist wants the privacy not the client.  Some clients are uncomfortable with this isolation because they want and need a friend at hand. The Article has it all wrong. There never has been an issue with disease by using open area tattooing. Privacy is up to the customer if they feel comfortable with the shop procedures or not.

Artists know things that no outsider does, that the sharing and witnessing is often as important as the tattoo contributing psychologically to maturing and learning to bear the pain, and sometimes a  community right of passage. Because there is no evidence that an open layout contributes to the spread of disease, any attempt to ban this practice will be resisted. It is an integral part of the tradition of tattoo. Lacking compelling reasons this section must be deleted.

            2. Unnecessary traffic through a workroom is prohibited.

This provision relies on a vague understanding that would vary with every shop making it an "unnecessary" provision. The use of a strong word like "prohibited" instead of "discouraged" or some other expression displays the Article's method: regulating is the compilation of listing prohibitions and listing allowable actions. This is an improper approach to protecting the health of the community. This method is also called "fascist."

            3. Each workstation in the workroom shall be equipped with hand washing sink

There is no support from OSHA or the CDC to require a hand washing sink at each and every "workstation" even in laboratories.  OSHA requires that hand washing sinks should be "readily available in the vicinity of the worker."  Having a hand washing sink readily accessible in the vicinity of the workstation is sufficient to protect the worker and the client.

            For the exclusive use of the body artist for washing his/her hands

            And preparing customers who are receiving body art procedures.
It is obvious the Article thinks artists literally wash the body part in the sink (like hair dressers) or otherwise the sink is used as an integral part of client preparation. This is false and supports the charge that the Article displays a fundamental lack of knowledge of tattoo or piercing.

            Each such sink shall be equipped with hot and cold running water dispensed through a mixing faucet with wrist action, automatic, or foot controls

This describes the usual sink but it should have been written more appropriately. Something like: equipped for "hands-free" operation. OSHA has always left open the possibility for new technologies and techniques, so definitions should be "performance-based" as much as possible rather than lists of currently available alternatives.

hand cleaning liquid or powdered soap in suitable labeled dispensers,

This entire section shows the detail obsessiveness of the Article believing their task is to stipulate the smallest details.

A USEPA (EPA) approved or hospital grade germicidal solution,

Because this item is sandwiched between hand cleaning soaps and hand brushes we hope the Article recognizes these as disinfectants not for use on skin.

Individual hand brushes and fingernail files for each body artist,

Nail cleaning accessories would not be discouraged but their mention is excessive. One can imagine the inspector counting the nail files and nail brushes lined up in a row, asking for placards of ownership to not mix them up, perhaps each with their owner's name, or a tag. This is unacceptable. Body Artists do not require parental guidance and talked down to like children. It is sufficient as mentioned elsewhere to be hygienic and clean. Having dirty fingernails is not clean. This type of statement is insulting and unnecessary.

And approved single-use sanitary towels from an enclosed dispenser

It is impossible for the Department to meaningfully "approve" or disapprove sanitary towels. Sanitary?  Ordinary air is not a significant source of contamination. If the Article is trying to target rolls of paper towels without a dispenser that would become unsanitary by being picked up and torn off that would hardly be a good way to express it.  This is appropriate for an explanation of what constitutes sanitary methods, not further regulation.

And the ultimate degradation of body artists.

An employee hand washing sign provided by the department is to be posted at each work station hand sink.

A sign? Provided by the department...and worst of all...this is serious. Talk about disrespect, this is it. The sink is not contaminated with blood or body fluid. What is the health threat if a non-employee washes their hands in the sink?

4. Individual workstations in the workroom shall be provided with counter areas and storage cabinetry for body art instruments, dyes, ointments, bandages etc. that are of sanitary design, maintained in good repair, and protected from potential sources of contamination.

There seems to be no end to usurping the legitimate functions of the shop owner in the design of the studio. Little do they know that body artists do not use dyes. It is sufficient to require that shops be kept hygienic and clean.

5. Work chairs, benches or tables shall be provided for each body artist. Surfaces of the chairs, benches or tables shall be constructed of material that is smooth, non-absorbent, and easily cleanable.

It is sufficient to require that shops be kept hygienic and clean. The focus should have been performance based – cleanable, able to be disinfected if necessary would have been far better, if at all.

6. The surfaces of furniture, equipment and fixtures that come in contact with the body part receiving the body art procedure or that may be directly or indirectly exposed to contamination from blood, blood products, and other body fluids during the course of a body art procedure must be covered or draped with an appropriate single-use, non-absorbent sanitary or sterile barrier material.

The Article tortures this. Disposable barrier products are used to protect surfaces likely to become contaminated and discarded after use.

7. Easily cleanable, covered receptacles shall be provided for waste paper, biomedical waste and other refuse at each individual workstation. These receptacles must have a hands-free mechanism to open and close the lid while the body artist is engaged in body art procedures.

This type of trash receptacle should not be discouraged but does pose operator difficulty during the procedure and should not be required like this. Continuously opening and closing trash receptacles would not be best practice, not foot operated at least. Another point is the wording seems to imply at least three different trash binds all within foot-reach of the artist.

8. Body Artists may not set up temporary facilities at fairs, festivals or expositions unless a Temporary Body Art Establishment permit is obtained from the Commissioner.

There is no explanation for the necessity and a troubling use of the word "establishment."
It would be reasonable only that the licensed artist notify the department so that they can inspect the area if they consider it necessary. There is not reason to have to obtain permission or another license if they are already licensed. This doesn't make sense unless the department just wants to control everything, even when it serves no health function. Licensed artists are already knowledgeable about health safety.

9. In all new, remodeled, expanded or renovated body art establishments, temporary body art establishments and mobile body art establishments, body artist's work station in the establishment shall have a procedure area with at least 45 square feet of floor space. Body art establishments in existence at the time of the adoption of this article are exempt from this requirement until remodeled, expanded or renovated.

It is desirable to have suitable space to work. Though 45 square feet of space may be a good approximation for any type of work, with no evidence that work cannot be performed safely in less space, this should not be a subject of regulation but left to the experienced judgment of body artists.

10 All body art establishments, temporary body art establishments and mobile body art establishments shall provide at least one procedure area that is capable of being completely screened from public view for clients requesting privacy.

Most artists would see this as a sound business decision, but to compel shops to provide such space because clients request a private space is unlikely to be upheld by the courts.

11. The work station areas shall be supplied with an adequate supply of single-use barrier materials for the purpose of covering or draping equipment, hardware, spray bottles or any other surfaces that might come into contact with the gloved hands of the body artist so as to prevent potential contamination from one person to another.

The purpose of this paragraph is to belittle body artists as if they are children incapable of buying enough supplies to protect clients. The stated purpose obscures the direct purpose: to prevent the item from becoming a source for contamination. The word "potential" is no longer used by OSHA or CDC but is replaced everywhere with reasonable likelihood or likely to occur

12. All containers in the body art establishment are to be labeled as to their contents.

OSHA requires all hazardous chemicals in the workplace be labeled and the FDA does not require content labeling of non-hazardous materials for professional use. The purpose for this regulation would seem to be for squirt and spray bottles though it might be meant for everything. IS the label to say "Ink" or does it mean the ingredients. This is a good idea for housekeeping and should read: "should be labeled" but again this is a matter of housekeeping and should not be written into the regulations.

13. Poisonous compounds, toxic compounds, and cleaning agents must be clearly labeled and stored and used in a manner that will not pose a threat to safe compounds, body art instruments and equipment used for body art procedures or occupants of the body art establishment.

Yes, these are good and worthwhile procedures. However, they have no place written into the regulations. These are worthwhile to include as examples of housekeeping procedures under OSHA regulations, as explanations that apply to all businesses, not in the written regulations.

These are personal views and opinions of Wes Wood and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of Unimax Supply Co Inc.
Copyright 2006