In many cases, dealing with biohazard materials means dealing with chemical spills, blood, human or animal remains. A traumatic event that ended in injury or death are situations that require biohazard remediation. The actual biohazard cleanup involves cleaning, applying EPA approved hospital grade disinfectants, and deodorizing areas where traumatic events have taken place.<\/p>\n
Keep in mind that the state is not responsible for cleaning up a crime scene. After police investigators collect evidence from the scene, it is the responsibility of the property owner to seek biohazard cleaning services. A professional cleanup company can arrive onsite only after the police have gathered enough evidence pertaining to the crime.<\/p>\n
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a standard in 1991 to protect all workers from possible dangers of blood or other potentially infectious materials (BOPIM). Hepatitis B virus, HIV, the 2019 Novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and many more are examples of Infectious pathogens.<\/p>\n
The BOPIM standard helps protect close to 5.6 million people in the healthcare industry and related occupations, which also includes biohazard remediation companies. Biohazard remediation falls within the scope of the BOPIM standard.<\/p>\n
The BOPIM standard also has a few requirements, as follows:<\/p>\n
Common Biohazard Scenarios<\/strong><\/p>\n Every occurrence that technicians need to work with or around potentially hazardous materials, it is performed at a significant risk. Because of this, adhering to safety procedures and proper training is necessary. The importance of these procedures are both for the technicians and residents who will later occupy the previously biohazard affected space. The technicians and residents rely on these safety procedures. The safety of both technicians and residents from biohazard dangers is highly important during and after the project.<\/p>\n To be employed as a biohazard technician, a certificate is not required. However, biohazard technicians are obligated to wear proper PPE when working around bloodborne pathogens. The state of Georgia recently passed legislation which affects any company providing cleanup services related to trauma and crime scene cleanup and restoration. Therefore, you should refer to local city, state, and federal regulations that could call for specific licensing or have certain laws in place for licensing requirements, background checks, fingerprinting or additional factors that may apply to biohazard cleanup businesses.<\/p>\n Personal Protective Equipment or PPE is the final line of defense that aids in keeping workers safe. PPE guards against any hazardous materials from touching workers, through skin, eyes, nose, mouth, or any other contact. The type of PPE does vary depending on the project, however, it should always consist of properly designated waterproof coveralls, nitrile gloves which are also cut resistant, full-face guard, and a respirator.<\/p>\n Furthermore, reputable restoration companies offer biohazard remediation training for workers. That includes learning OSHA\u2019s on-the-job safety precautions when handling biohazardous materials. Doing this reduces the risk of accidents and probable lawsuits.<\/p>\n PuroClean Biohazard Cleanup Process<\/p>\n\n
Is Certification Needed to Perform Biohazard Cleanup?<\/h2>\n