[Amended 2-12-2018 by Ord. No. 5-2018]
A. In the administration of this chapter, words in the present tense include the future, the singular number includes the plural and the plural the singular; the masculine includes the feminine; the words "shall" and "will" are mandatory; and the word "may" is permissive.
B. For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
AFTERCARE — Written and verbal instructions given to the client, specific to the body art procedure(s) rendered, on caring for the body art and its surrounding area.
ANTISEPTIC — An agent that destroys disease-causing microorganisms on human skin or mucosa.
APPRENTICE — An individual being taught a trade.
ARTIST/OPERATOR/TECHNICIAN/PRACTITIONER — Any person who controls, operates, manages, conducts or practices body art activities at a body art establishment. The term includes technicians and apprentices who work under the operator and perform body art activities.
AUTOCLAVE — An apparatus for sterilization, utilizing steam pressure at a specific temperature over a period of time.
BLOODBORNE PATHOGENS — Standard OSHA guidelines as defined in 29 CFR 1910.103, "Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens."
BODY ART — The practice of body piercing and tattooing.
BODY ART ESTABLISHMENT OR FACILITY — Any space where body piercing or tattooing is conducted.
BODY PIERCING — The perforation of human tissue, excluding ear piercing, for a nonmedical purpose.
CLIENT — A person who requests a body art procedure at a body art establishment.
CLIENT RECORD — A file kept by the establishment maintaining information regarding the client and the body art procedures provided to the client.
CONTAMINATED WASTE/BIOLOGICAL WASTE/BIOHAZARD WASTE - Any liquid or semiliquid blood or other potentially infectious materials; contaminated items that would release blood or other potentially infectious materials in a liquid or semiliquid state if compressed; items that are caked with dried blood or other potentially infectious materials and are capable of releasing these materials during handling; sharps and any wastes containing blood and other potentially infectious materials, as defined in 29 CFR Part 1910.1030 (latest edition), known as "Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens" and/or PA Chapter 284 Infectious and Chemotherapeutic Waste.
COSMETIC TATTOOING — (See "tattooing.") Permanent cosmetics and/or micropigment implantation.
DEPARTMENT — City of Reading Property Maintenance Division.
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 outer perimeter or lobe of the ear using a presterilized single-use stud and clasp ear piercing system following manufacturers' instructions.
EQUIPMENT/FURNITURE — 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 — Any event where there is an eye, mouth or other mucus membrane or nonintact skin contact with the blood or body fluids of another person or contact of eye, mouth or other mucus membrane, nonintact skin with other potentially infectious matter and/or an occurrence whereby an individual is exposed to medical waste.
GAUGING — The deliberate expansion of a healed fistula (hole in the skin) for the purpose of wearing body piercing jewelry.
GLOVES — Disposable protective coverings for the hands.
HANDSINK — A lavatory equipped with tempered hot and cold running water under pressure, used solely for washing hands, arms or other portions of the body.
HEALTH OFFICER — The Health Officer of the City of Reading or his or her designee.
HEALTH PERMIT — The written authorization by the City of Reading to operate a body art establishment and/or to provide body art services. This permit is separate from any other licensing requirement that may exist within communities or political subdivisions other than the City of Reading.
HOT WATER — Water at a temperature greater than or equal to 110° F. but not greater than 125° F.
INFECTIOUS WASTE —
(1) Blood and body fluids in a liquid or semiliquid state;
(2) Items contaminated with blood or body fluids, which, if compressed or disturbed, may release liquid or semiliquid blood or body fluids;
(3) Sharps which have been used in performing body art;
(4) Other waste which contains pathogenic microbial agents or other biologically active materials in sufficient concentrations that exposure to the waste directly or indirectly creates a significant risk of disease.
INSTRUMENTS USED FOR BODY ART — Hand pieces, needles, sharps, needle bars and other instruments that may come in contact with a client's body or may be exposed to bodily fluids during body art procedures.
INVASIVE — Entry into the body either by incision or insertion of an instrument into or through the skin or mucosa, or by any other means intended to puncture, break or compromise the skin or mucosa.
JEWELRY — Any personal ornament inserted into a newly pierced area.
LIQUID CHEMICAL GERMICIDE — A sanitizer registered with the Environmental Protection Agency or an approximate 1:100 dilution of household chlorine bleach made fresh daily and dispensed from a spray bottle (500 ppm, 1/4 cup per gallon or two tablespoons per quart of tap water).
MEDICAL WASTE —
(1) Blood and body fluids in a liquid or semiliquid state;
(2) Items contaminated with blood or body fluids, which, if compressed or disturbed, may release liquid or semiliquid blood or body fluids;
(3) Sharps which have been used in performing body art;
(4) Other waste which contains pathogenic microbial agents or other biologically active materials in sufficient concentrations that exposure to the waste directly or indirectly creates a significant risk of disease.
MINOR — Any individual under the age of 18.
OPERATOR — The term "operator" shall mean:
(1) Any individual, firm, company, corporation, or association that owns or operates an establishment where tattooing is performed.
(2) Any individual who performs or practices the art of tattooing on a human being. This definition shall not apply to:
(a) Licensed physicians, dentists, or doctors of veterinary medicine in performance of their professional duties.
(b) Funeral directors.
(c) Corrective cosmetics establishments physically located within a licensed physician's office.
PERMIT HOLDER — A person who holds a permit to operate a body art establishment or to provide body art services.
PERSON — An individual, any form of business or social organization or any other nongovernmental legal entity including but not limited to a corporation, partnership, limited-liability company, association, trust or unincorporated organization.
PHYSICIAN — A health professional who has earned a degree of Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) or Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.) after completing an approved course of study. A physician is required to obtain a license from the state in which professional services will be performed.
PIERCING — The term "piercing" refers to piercing of skin with insertion of a device. Individuals who pierce only ear lobes are exempt from the regulations.
PROCEDURE SURFACE — Any surface of an inanimate object that contacts the client's skin 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.
RECORD/REGISTER — List.
SANITARY — Clean and free of agents of infection or disease.
SANITIZE/SANITIZATION PROCEDURE — A process of reducing the numbers of microorganisms on cleaned surfaces and equipment to a safe level as judged by public health standards and which has been approved by the Property Maintenance Division and/ or by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
SHARPS — Any object (sterile or contaminated) that may purposefully or accidentally cut or penetrate the skin or mucosa including, but not limited to, presterilized, single-use needles, scalpel blades and razor blades.
SHARPS CONTAINER/BIOHAZARD CONTAINER — A puncture-resistant, leakproof container that can be closed for handling, storage, transportation and disposal and is labeled with the international biohazard symbol.
SINGLE USE — 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 gloves.
STERILIZATION — A process approved by the Property Maintenance Division resulting in the destruction of all forms of microbial life, including highly resistant bacterial spores.
TATTOO — The indelible mark, figure, or decorative design introduced by the insertion of dyes or pigments into or under the subcutaneous portion of the skin.
TATTOO ESTABLISHMENT — A place where tattooing is performed.
TATTOOING — The term "tattooing" refers to one or more of the following:
(1) Any method of placing indelible mark(s), figure(s), letter(s), scroll(s), symbol(s), or decorative design(s) upon or under the skin of a living human being with ink or any other substance, resulting in the coloration of the skin by the aid of needles or any other instrument designed to touch or puncture the skin.
(2) An indelible design made upon the skin of a living human being by production of scars other than by branding.
(3) All forms of cosmetic tattooing.
TATTOOIST — Any person who applies a tattoo to the body of another person.
TEMPORARY BODY ART ESTABLISHMENT — Any place or premises operating at a fixed location where an operator performs body art procedures for no more than 14 days consecutively in conjunction with a single event or celebration.
THREE-DIMENSIONAL BODY ART — The form of body art consisting of or requiring the placement, injection or insertion of an object, device or other thing made of material such as steel, titanium, rubber, latex, plastic, glass or any other material, beneath the surface of the skin of a person.
UNIVERSAL PRECAUTIONS — A set of guidelines and controls, published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as "Guidelines for Prevention of Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Hepatitis B Virus 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 handwashing, gloving, personal protective equipment, injury prevention, and proper handling and disposal of needles, other sharp instruments, and blood and body fluid contaminated products.
WAIVER — A written document issued by the Health Officer with the consent of the Board which authorizes a modification or waiver of one or more of the requirements of this chapter if, in the opinion of the Health Officer and Property Maintenance Division, a health hazard or nuisance will not result from the modification or waiver.