(A) The Department of Health and Environmental Control shall establish sterilization, sanitation, and safety standards for persons engaged in the business of body piercing. The department shall provide the necessary resources to support the development of these standards. The standards must be directed at establishment and maintenance of sterile conditions and safe disposal of instruments. The standards may be modified as appropriate to protect consumers from transmission of contagious diseases through cross-contamination of instruments and supplies.

(B) Prior to applying to the department for a permit, a body piercing facility must ensure that all body piercing technicians obtain a certificate attesting to the successful completion of a course in blood- borne pathogens and body piercing infection control as approved by the department; the body piercing facility must then apply for and obtain a permit issued by the department, who shall issue such permits, renewable annually, upon presentation of a certificate of each body piercing technician‘s initial and annual certification of successful completion of a course in blood-borne pathogens and body piercing infection control and payment of an annual permitting fee of three hundred dollars per body piercing facility.

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 44-32-20

  • Body piercing: means the creation of an opening in the body of a human being so as to create a permanent hole for the purpose of inserting jewelry or other decoration. See South Carolina Code 44-32-10
  • Body piercing facility: means any room, space, location, area, structure, or business, or any part of any of these places, where body piercing is practiced or where the business of body piercing is conducted. See South Carolina Code 44-32-10
  • Body piercing technician: means a person who practices body piercing and who meets the requirements of this chapter. See South Carolina Code 44-32-10
  • Department: means the Department of Health and Environmental Control. See South Carolina Code 44-32-10