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A law requiring California counties
to enforce new safety rules for tattoo and body piercing shops goes into effect
July 1. Under the Safe Body Art Act, these businesses will be subject to public
health permitting, inspections and standards. The law will impact nearly 200
shops in Fresno County alone.
Currently, tattooing and body
piercing are unregulated in much of the state - meaning health inspectors do
not ensure equipment is sterilized, shops are clean or practitioners are
trained.
“This is long overdue,” said Dave
Olvera, manager of Tower Tattoos in Fresno’s Tower District. “Fresno is known
for its bad shops. There are people working out of their homes. I saw a tattoo
shop operating out of a gas station.” A health certificate from the county
would reassure customers that safety standards are in place, he said.
The law requires shops to obtain
annual permits from county health departments. It also requires individual
practitioners to register. As part of registration, practitioners must undergo
training on blood-borne diseases, get vaccinated against hepatitis B, and have
more than six months’ experience in their field.
Fresno County recently began mailing
out notices about the law to known body art practitioners; however, health
officials concede that others exist.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
