Message from the Founder

When I began in the body piercing business in 1992, the body piercing industry in general but practically the body piercing shops in New Jersey operated their body piercing shops without a concern for the health and safety of their clientele. In fact many of the ear piercing shops in Wildwood New Jersey would perform navel piercing using an ear piercing gun. In 1993, I became politically active in creating regulations for body piercing with the first body piercing regulations established in Wildwood New Jersey. The City Council of Wildwood New Jersey felt the county health department was capable of establishing mandated regulations for the body piercing shops in Wildwood New Jersey, in 1994. The Cape May County Health Department began the process of inspecting and regulating the body piercing shops on the Wildwood Board Walk in an effort to protect the health and safety of the public. By 2000, the State of New Jersey mandated regulations for all body arts with the City of Philadelphia mandating regulations in the following year.

It has been a struggle for me to see how the State of New Jersey's Health Department has dropped the ball, by allowing the body piercing shops in New Jersey to operate in an unclean and unsafe manner and actually license these body piercing shops that are jeopardizing the health and safety of the public. The body piercing regulations in the State of New Jersey clearly states; in section 8:27-4.7 if you have immunodeficiency virus or Hepatitis you must comply with OSHA Regulations under Rule 29, CFR part 1910.1030 but if you do not have immunodeficiency virus or Hepatitis you are not required to comply with these regulations. They go on to say that if you do have immunodeficiency virus or Hepatitis you must tell the Health Department so they can inspect your facility under a stricter set of guidelines. By making this statement within the regulations they have given the body piercing shops in New Jersey to operate in noncompliance with OSHA Regulations, if they do not have or choose not to report that they have immunodeficiency virus or Hepatitis.

Let's regress for a moment and look at what the body piercing procedure truly is. The body piercing procedure is the process of taking a hollow needle and passing through the skin and then replacing the needle with metal of the gauge as the needle. During this process the individual who is performing the procedure has contact with the body tissue (which is inside the needle), body fluid (which is on the needle and on the piercing site) and blood (which may vary in volume). OSHA Regulations clearly state that anyone who has the potential of exposure to body fluid, body tissue or blood must operate in full compliance with all OSHA regulations under Bloodbourne Pathogen Standards. At no time within these regulations does it state that only individuals who have or report that they have immunodeficiency virus or Hepatitis must be in compliance with these regulations and all others need not comply.

The situation becomes more ridiculous as the Health Department mandates that all Body Piercers take a Bloodbourne Pathogen Training Class to be licensed as a Body Piercer in the State of New Jersey, yet they are not obligated to operate their body piercing shop under the OSHA regulations. I feel it's my duty to make the public aware of this situation because the State of New Jersey's Health Department and the body piercing shops in New Jersey are putting you at risk when you receive a piercing.

For a body piercing shop in New Jersey to be in full compliance with OSHA Regulations you are entitled to see the following:

1. The body piercing shop must have a written compliance program and needs to be made available for the public to view.

2. The body piercing shop will have documentation that an OSHA Inspector has inspected the facility.

3. The Body Piercer is wearing personal protection equipment as required under OSHA regulations. If the Piercer is wearing street clothes, they are not in compliance.

4. All bottles are properly labeled and the documentation of each chemical is displayed properly.

There are many other areas of noncompliance of OSHA Regulations which I am more than willing to discuss with you. If you have any questions concerning OSHA Regulations, please contact me via email at Ron@primalurgebodypiercing.com.

Primal Urge Jewelry & Piercing Salon 115 South Main Street New Hope, Pa 18938