DURHAM -- Longhorn Custom Body Art is abuzz with the sounds of tattoo needles after re-opening its doors on Aug. 9.

The Region of Durham’s health department closed the parlour, located at 12 Centre St. in Oshawa, on Aug. 1 after launching an investigation into potential exposure to non-sterile equipment. It re-opened after passing a number of tests on the previously malfunctioning sterilizing equipment that had forced the closer.

“It’s slower than usual, but there are customers coming in,” said Hugh Towie, owner of Longhorn, which has been in operation for the past 16 years.

He explained the machine that caused the closure had three failed spore tests in the past 10 months and it has since been refurbished. Mr. Towie has been ordered to test the sterilizing equipment everyday for the next six days and send the results to the health department.

Using the waiver forms clients filled out and provided by Mr. Towie, the Region is working to send letters to the between 1,500 and 2,000 who could have been affected.

Although the health department does deem the risk low, it’s encouraging people who received services at Longhorn between Nov. 17, 2006 and Aug. 1, 2007, to call the health department and visit their family doctor or an urgent-care clinic. The use of non-sterile equipment could lead to transmission of diseases like hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.

“I am concerned for the public safety and yeah, I encourage them to get tested,” Mr. Towie said. “But, it is deemed low risk and anyone that knows about sterilization knows that our piercing needles and tattoo needles are single use.”

It’s the tattoo tubes and piercing tools, he went on to explain, that are sterilized and that is done with great care.

“Before they even get to the (sterilizing equipment) they have to be scrubbed and washed and put into an ultrasonic machine for 15 minutes,” Mr. Towie said.

Although Mr. Towie said he takes great care in the cleanliness of his shop, he said not all are so careful.

“I am confident in my equipment... I wish all of these little fly-by-night shops were all so clean,” Mr. Towie said. “(The health department) is in these places once a year and I think they should be in once a month.”

The Region’s manager of environmental health agrees that this is a perfect example of why tattoo and body art establishments need to be better regulated.

It’s ever increasing in its popularity, tattoos and body piecing, but according to Ross MacEachern, as the art form and the number of establishments that offer it grows, regulations governing them hasn’t kept pace.

There are guidelines to deal with the tattoo and body piercing industry, but it is largely a self-regulated business.

This situation, Mr. MacEachern said, highlights a major gap in the current protocol the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care has. The fact that beauty and body art establishments are not regulated is a definite problem.

“Food establishments have regulations, pools have regulations, but these places, that can lead to blood-borne illnesses, don’t,” Mr, MacEachern said. “It may be time to look at regulating them like we do restaurants.”

The current protocol is from 1998 and Mr. MacEachern said it needs to be updated. Part of that protocol indicates tattoo parlours need to test sterilizing equipment on a monthly basis, but they don’t have to send those results to anyone. And if they fail there is no obligation to report that failure.

David Jenson, a communications representative with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care confirmed that the industry is largely self regulated. He explained that tattoo parlours fall under the Personal Services Setting Protocol. Any establishment, from hair dressers to piecing parlours, fall under this protocol which lays out minimum inspection controls. He said it calls for annual visits by local health boards to ensure appropriate inspection control measures are in place.

For more information, call the Durham Health Connection Line at 905-666-6241 or 1-800-841-2729, weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on weekends from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.