NEHA December 2024 Journal of Environmental Health

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As defined in our Body Art Model Code, body art encompasses body piercing, tattooing, branding, scarification, or cosmetic tat- tooing. Environmental health plays a vital role in body art through the inspection and regulation of establishments that oer these services. This work ensures the health and safety of the public and body art professionals. We partner with the Association of Food and Drug O cials (AFDO) Body Art Committee and the Body Art Education Alliance to support environmental health practitioners and the body art industry. You can find all of our body art initiatives and resources at www.neha.org/body-art, including: • Body Art Model Code: We released our newly updated Body Art Model Code (BAMC) in March 2024. The code is the only com- prehensive model code in the country that addresses current body art issues and public health risks. The updated version includes emerging practices related to permanent make-up, single-use equipment, temporary events, and bodily waste regulation, among other topics. The BAMC was created with input from envi- ronmental health and industry professionals and is available for jurisdictions to use as a resource to update their body art codes. • Body Art Model Code Annex: An updated BAMC Annex is pending release. The Annex is a supplement to the BAMC that provides justification, rationale, and best practices to support the requirements in the BAMC. • Body Art Model Code Adoption Toolkit: Developing and adopting body art regulations can be a long and challenging pro- cess that can vary widely between jurisdictions due to diering administrative procedures and rulemaking processes. This tool- kit outlines a path to BAMC adoption for jurisdictions interested in utilizing the BAMC to develop, update, or enhance their regu- lations. The toolkit includes steps and recommended actions to take during the adoption process; advice, best practices, and

lessons learned from industry and regulators; tools and informa- tion for talking to decision-makers; and relevant resources. • Body Art Facility Inspector Training: We collaborated with indus- try and regulatory experts to bring this training to environmental health professionals. In 2022, we successfully launched the pilot delivery of this training at our AEC. The feedback received from the pilot delivery was used to refine course content and intro- duce additional engaging materials, including mock inspection videos, activities, job aids, photos, and more. The updated course has since been delivered at our AECs. We are now getting ready to oer an online asynchronous training course for inspectors. • Body Art Newsletter: Oered quarterly, you can sign up for free to receive our Body Art Newsletter. The newsletter con- tains updates about our body art initiatives, new resources, and upcoming events. You can also access all past newsletters. • Policy Statement on Body Art: You can find our current policy statement on body art that supports eorts to improve the safety of the body art industry through thoughtful regulation to protect the health of the public. You can use this policy statement to inform local decision-makers and to support your body art initiatives. • Body Art Resources: We have curated a webpage of body art resources to help meet the needs of our workforce related to body art facility inspections. More than 25 dierent resources are available, all in one spot. These resources are geared toward body art clients, body artists, body art facilities, and inspectors. For example, we have designed job aids that can be dissemi- nated at body art facilities to provide trusted and accurate infor- mation about risks, aftercare, when to seek medical attention, and the proper handling of sharps.

Visit www.neha.org/body-art to find all of these valuable resources!

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December 2024 • 9>;8+6 90 8?3;987/8=+6 /+6=2

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