(a) Each person who operates a tattooing establishment shall comply with the following requirements.
(1) The room in which tattooing is done shall have an area of not less than 100 square feet. The walls, floors and ceiling shall have an impervious, smooth and washable surface.
(2) A toilet shall be located in the establishment and shall be accessible at all times that the tattooing establishment is open for business. The lavatory shall be supplied with hot and cold running water, soap and sanitary towels.
(3) 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 high or by a door.
(4) The entire premises and equipment shall be maintained in a clean, sanitary condition and in good repair.
(5) The operator shall wash his or her hands thoroughly with soap and water before starting to tattoo; the hands shall be dried with individual, single-use towels.
(6) No tattooing shall be done on any skin surface that has a rash, pimples, boils, infections or manifests any evidence of an unhealthy condition.
(7) 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.
(8) Safety razors with a new, single-service blade for each customer or patron, or a straight-edge razor, may be used and shall be thoroughly cleaned and sterilized before each use on each customer or patron.
(9) The area to be tattooed 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 is begun, a solution of iodine or betadine shall be applied to the area with a single-use sponge used and applied with a sterile instrument.
(10) Only petroleum jelly in collapsible metal or plastic tubes, or its equivalent as approved by the Health Commissioner, shall be used on the area to be tattooed, and it shall be applied with sterile gauze.
(11) The use of styptic pencils, alum block or other solid styptics to check the flow of blood is prohibited.
(12) An inquiry shall be made, and anyone giving a history of recent jaundice or hepatitis shall not be tattooed.
(13) 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 saturated with an antiseptic soap solution approved by the Health Commissioner, or a 70% 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.
(b) 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 cabinet shall be maintained in a sanitary manner at all times.
(1) A steam sterilizer (autoclave) shall be provided for sterilizing all needles and similar instruments before use on any person. (Alternative sterilizing procedures may only be used when specifically approved by the Health Commissioner.) Sterilization of equipment will 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 240ºF or 116ºC.
(2) The needles and instruments required to be sterilized shall be so used, handled and temporarily placed during tattooing that they will not be contaminated.
(c) Permanent records of each patron or customer shall be maintained by the licensee or operator of the establishment. Before the tattooing operation begins, the patron or customer shall be required personally to enter, on a record form provided for such establishments, the date and his or her name, address, age, serial number (if a member of the Armed Forces) and signature. Such records shall be maintained in the tattoo establishment and shall be available for examination by the Health Commissioner. Records shall be retained by the operator or licensee for a period of not less than two years. In the event of a change of ownership or closing of the business, all such records shall be made available to the Health Commissioner.
(d) No person, customer or patron having any skin infection or other disease of the skin or any communicable disease shall be tattooed. All infections resulting from the practice of tattooing which become known to the operator shall promptly be reported to the Health Commissioner by the person owning or operating the tattooing establishment, and the infected client shall be referred to a physician.
(e) All pigments, dyes or colors 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 customer or patron shall be placed in a single-service receptacle and the receptacle and remaining solution shall be discarded after use on each customer or patron.
(f) All bandages and surgical dressings used in connection with the tattooing of a person shall be sterile.
(Ord. 14-92, passed 7-6-1992)