§ 307-2. Definitions.

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

AFTERCARE

Written instructions given to the client, specific to the body art procedure(s) rendered, about caring for the body art and surrounding area, including information about when to seek medical treatment, if necessary.

APPLICANT

Any person who applies to the Board of Health for either a body art establishment permit or practitioner permit.

AUTOCLAVE

An apparatus for sterilization utilizing steam pressure at a specific temperature over a period of time.

AUTOCLAVING

A process which results in the destruction of all forms of microbial life, including highly resistant spores, by the use of a steam autoclave for a minimum of 30 minutes at 20 pounds of pressure (psi) at a temperature of 270° F.

BLOODBORNE PATHOGENS STANDARD

OSHA Guidelines contained in 29 CFR 1910.1030, entitled "Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens."

BOARD OF HEALTH or BOARD

The Board of Health that has jurisdiction in the community in which a body art establishment is located.

BODY ART

The practice of physical body adornment by permitted establishments and practitioners using, but not limited to, the following techniques: body piercing, tattooing, cosmetic tattooing, branding, and scarification. This definition does not include practices that are considered medical procedures by the Board of Registration in Medicine, such as implants under the skin, which are prohibited.

BODY ART ESTABLISHMENT or ESTABLISHMENT

A location, place, or business that has been granted a permit by the Board, whether public or private, where the practices of body art are performed, whether or not for profit.

BODY ART PRACTITIONER or PRACTITIONER

A specifically identified individual who has been granted a permit by the Board to perform body art in an establishment that has been granted a permit by the Board.

BODY PIERCING

Puncturing or penetrating the skin of a client with presterilized single-use needles and the insertion of presterilized jewelry or other adornment into the opening. This definition excludes piercing of the earlobe with a presterilized single-use stud-and-clasp system manufactured exclusively for ear piercing.

BRANDING

Inducing a pattern of scar tissue by use of a heated material (usually metal) to the skin, making a serious burn, which eventually becomes a scar.

CLIENT

A member of the public who requests a body art procedure at a body art establishment.

CONTAMINATED WASTE

Waste as defined in 105 CMR 480.000: Storage and Disposal of Infectious or Physically Dangerous Medical or Biological Waste, State Sanitary Code, Chapter VIII.

DEPARTMENT

The Department of Public Health or its authorized representatives.

DISINFECTANT

A product registered as a disinfectant by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

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 lobe of the ear with a presterilized single-use stud-and-clasp ear-piercing system following the manufacturer's instructions.

EQUIPMENT

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.

HAND SINK

A lavatory equipped with hot and cold running water under pressure, used solely for washing hands, arms, or other portions of the body.

HOT WATER

Water that attains and maintains a temperature 110º to 130ºF.

INSTRUMENTS USED FOR BODY ART

Hand pieces, needles, needle bars, and other instruments that may come in contact with a client's body or may be exposed to bodily fluids during any body art procedure.

INVASIVE

Entry into the client's body either by incision or insertion of any instruments into or through the skin or mucosa, or by any other means intended to puncture, break, or otherwise compromise the skin or mucosa.

JEWELRY

Any ornament inserted into a newly pierced area, which must be made of surgical implant-grade stainless steel; solid 14k or 18k white or yellow gold, niobium, titanium, or platinum; or a dense, low-porosity plastic, which is free of nicks, scratches, or irregular surfaces and has been properly sterilized prior to use.

MINOR

Any person under the age of 18 years.

MOBILE BODY ART ESTABLISHMENT

Any trailer, truck, car, van, camper or other motorized or nonmotorized vehicle, a shed, tent, movable structure, bar, home or other similar facility.

OPERATOR

Any person who individually, or jointly or severally with others, owns, or controls an establishment, but is not a body art practitioner.

PERMIT

Board approval in writing to either (1) operate a body art establishment or (2) operate as a body art practitioner within a body art establishment. Board approval shall be granted solely for the practice of body art pursuant to these regulations. Said permit is exclusive of the establishment's compliance with other licensing or permitting requirements that may exist within community or political subdivision comprising the Board's jurisdiction.

PERSON

An individual, any form of business or social organization or any other nongovernmental legal entity, including but not limited to corporations, partnerships, limited-liability companies, associations, trusts or unincorporated organizations.

PHYSICIAN

An individual licensed as a qualified physician by the Board of Registration in Medicine pursuant to MGL C. 112, § 2.

PROCEDURE SURFACE

Any surface of an inanimate object that contacts the client's unclothed body 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.

SANITARY

Clean and free of agents of infection or disease.

SANITIZE

The application of a U.S. EPA registered sanitizer on a cleaned surface in accordance with the label instructions.

SCARIFICATION

Altering skin texture by cutting the skin and controlling the body's healing process in order to produce wounds, which result in permanently raised wheals or bumps known as keloids.

SHARPS

Any object, sterile or contaminated, that may intentionally or accidentally cut or penetrate the skin or mucosa, including, but not limited to, needle devices, lancets, scalpel blades, razor blades, and broken glass.

SHARPS CONTAINER

A puncture-resistant, leakproof container that can be closed for handling, storage, transportation, and disposal and that is labeled with the international biohazard symbol.

SINGLE USE ITEMS

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 protective gloves.

STERILIZE

The use of a physical or chemical procedure to destroy all microbial life including highly resistant bacterial endospores.

TATTOO

The indelible mark, figure or decorative design introduced by insertion of dyes or pigments into or under the subcutaneous portion of the skin.

TATTOOING

Any method of placing ink or other pigment into or under the skin or mucosa by the aid of needles or any other instrument used to puncture the skin, resulting in permanent coloration of the skin or mucosa. This term includes all forms of cosmetic tattooing.

ULTRASONIC CLEANING UNIT

A unit approved by the Board, physically large enough to fully submerge instruments in liquid, which removes all foreign matter from the instruments by means of high frequency oscillations transmitted through the contained liquid.

UNIVERSAL PRECAUTIONS

A set of guidelines and controls, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as "Guidelines for Prevention of Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) 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 hand washing; gloving; personal protective equipment; injury prevention; and proper handling and disposal of needles, other sharp instruments, and blood- and body-fluid-contaminated products.