What Is Biohazard Cleanup?

When there’s a big mess, you call in the big guns. However, cleanup services are different and can not handle the same types of jobs. You need to find someone licensed, insured, and certified to deal with biohazard cleanup.

In healthcare, it’s important to safely manage waste that can cause negative health and environmental impacts. These can include used needles or the release of microorganisms.

Here’s everything that goes into a biohazard cleanup service and what to look for in a biohazard cleanup company.

Types of Biohazards

First of all, it’s important to know exactly what makes something a biohazard. A biological hazard, or biohazard, is a material that can pose a risk to living beings.

Hazards can range from something as simple as the common mold to a deadly virus engineered in a lab. Most commonly, you can these biohazards in medical or laboratory settings, but you may also encounter them in a normal household.

Some materials defined as biohazardous include sharps waste, animal waste, human waste, and plant waste. You may see different environments classified as biohazardous, such as a crime scene or a contaminated building.

What is Biohazard Cleanup?

Law requires laboratories and other settings that deal with biohazardous materials to have their own biohazard disposal methods. However, there often come times when you’ll need to hire a biohazard cleanup company to deal with an accident outside of a standard setting.

For example, homicides or suicides are more than just traumatic. They can be messy, and no one wants to clean up a family member’s dead tissue from the walls or carpet.

Even if a dead body is in one piece, it might not get found for days or weeks. This can cultivate a toxic environment full of dangerous bacteria.

Accidents in industrial workplaces may also need a biohazard cleanup, such as spilling stock cultures or a major sewage backup.

Because of the high exposure risk to pathogens, you should reach out to a biohazard cleanup company as soon as possible. Not only are these companies certified and trained to deal with the issue, but they also have the necessary equipment to keep themselves safe on the job.

When looking for a cleanup company near you, make sure to get referrals, read online reviews, and are properly equipped.

Referrals from people you trust can save you a lot of time poring through reviews. However, you should still check out what people are saying online. Make sure to look at the 3-star reviews, which tend to give a more honest assessment.

Before you hire a service, find out what equipment they use and that they have all the necessary certifications. If they don’t have the minimum requirements, then they likely won’t be able to perform as good of a job as you require.

Biohazard Services

Biohazard-hazmat cleanup takes care of the aftermath left behind by death, contaminated property, and more. The right company can help you at any time of the day or night and provide the expertise to decontaminate an area.

Trained professionals should follow strict industry guidelines and protocols. They should also comply with local, state, federal, and other regulations.

Some of the different types of biohazard conditions covered include homicides, hoarding scenes, animal remains, and crime scenes. These are not limited to buildings and can include vehicles and outdoor areas.

While biohazard cleanup does involve disposing of hazardous materials, it also includes cleaning, sanitizing, and deodorizing the area. In the case of a crime scene, the property owner is responsible for hiring a cleaning service after the police have finished up.

The BOPIM Standard protects workers from bloodborne pathogens. It stands for “Blood or Other Potentially Infectious Materials”.  This standard requires using work practice controls, appropriate Personal Protective Equipment, the necessary vaccinations, and more.

While certification is not a requirement to become a biohazard technician, they can prove that a service provider has gone through the required training. California and Florida are the only two states that require permits before handling hazardous materials.

The Cleanup Process

All biohazard cleanup companies operate with slight differences, but the overall goal is to eliminate any biohazardous materials and create a safe and healthy environment.

One of the first things done is donning appropriate PPE. This can mean liquid or airtight clothing, goggles, a respirator, and gloves.

Next, the remediation crew identifies the affected areas. How big is the mess, and what can they salvage?

Remove other individuals from the site, as well as any potentially infectious materials. OSHA regulations serve as the guidelines for how to handle biohazardous waste.

Cleaning company bags and sends any hazardous medical waste to a medical waste incinerator.  Non-hazardous materials get decontaminated and cleaned if they can be saved. Anything not salvageable is disposed of.

Next step is to remove any exposed fabric or carpeting.  After cleanup has been completed, the area is deodorized to eliminate any leftover scents or odors. The cleaning company can do it with either chemical products or using UV light sources.

Leftover stains may remain despite the cleanup. Upon completion, they might use testing technology to guarantee complete disinfection.

A Biohazard Cleanup Company You Can Trust

Biohazard incidents aren’t just big messes. They’re also medical emergencies. Without the proper training and equipment, you could develop a deadly illness trying to clean it all up.

A biohazard cleanup company should be able to deal with whatever you throw at them, including dead bodies and medical waste. They should also offer rapid response.

With PNW Restoration, you can trust us to clean up your water, mold, and biohazard situations. Contact us to schedule an appointment or get a 24/7 emergency response.