Death Cleanup Explained
A death cleanup follows an event that soils areas with organisms, or material from organisms. As a biohazard, this material is a threat to human health. For our purposes, homicide, suicide, unattended death, and other soiled environments are cleaned. The goal is to destroy and remove microorganisms, virues, and toxins contaminating the environment with human effluents.
Death Odors
Will all Neptune's great ocean wash Clean this blood from my hand? Macbeth A short comment about the "death odor" precedes the crime scene cleanup comments found here. You might be interested to know that many people call the death odor "miasma." This term goes back to the 17th century when the death odor was associated with disease. Many educated people taught that miasma was itself carried plagues. We know today that miasma is just as safe as any other odor. It simply offends our sense of taste. We might ask, "Were we born with a distaste for this odor?". "Do Instincts account for our repulsed behavior to this odor?" we might also ask. Both answers to the above questions are no and no! Just like any other odor, we must learn to dislike miasma's various fragrances. Everyday around the world tens of thousands of people work with miasma and remain healthy. In short, we learn to "hate" the odor of death moreso because of what it means to us than what it does to us. Crime Scene Odors The odors associated with a crime scene consist of both organic and inorganic substances. The inorganic are the materials used in the crime, such as the odor of gun powder. For our purposes here, our concern is the organic substances that lead to strong, repulsive contamination of a structure's internal environment. Blood and other potentially infectious materials (OPIM) begin decomposing once released from the body. The rate of decomposition depends upon the external environment's temperature, relative humidity, and other conditions. Along with decomposition follows odor. Both blood and OPIM Blood's contents add to its odor causing properties once in its external environment, open air. Proteins, carbohydrates, oxygen, carbon dioxide, urine, feces, enzymes, oils, and more add to its mal-odor properties. The detection of blood's odor depends upon the perceivers' previous experience with this odor as well as their strength of odor detection. Among any group of people, one will have a greater ability to detect blood's presence than the others, and so on. It is a relative matter. Violent deaths usually involve a great loss of blood and tissue, OPIM (Other Potentially Infectious Materials). The loss of blood and tissue, the environmental conditions, and other circumstances will aid in the production of offensive death scene odors, miasma. Sometimes miasma lingers because of poor ventilation, Sometimes miasma will linger because it has permeated porous materials: fabrics, paper, wood, and more.
We do our best to remove the odors associated with crime scenes and other death scenes. However, removing the source material will not always return the scene to its pre-incident condition for some time. Time and heavy ventilation, and removal of miasma permeated materials will help return the scene to a more "normal" condition.
We can apply chemicals to help increase miasma's departure from the scene, but even chemicals have their limits. Ask about our odor control policies and methods if this is a concern. top
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Blood cleanup following death or trauma
Never remove biohazardous material without wearing gloves. "For cleaning blood or bloody fluids from floors, bed, etc., you can use household rubber gloves." Wear protection over eyes, nose, and mouth. Have a safe means of exit and a place to decontaminate yourself and clothing.
Dried blood that flakes may easily become aerosolized if mishandled. Contact with airborne blood places the cleaner at risk of infectious disease.
Before removing, moisten flaking (scabbing) blood. Cause it not to become airborne. Cover flaked blood with paper towels and lightly moIsten with a disinfectant (bleach) from afar. Use a spray bottle while making wide, misting applications to the paper towels' surface. Before removing blood, ensure that it is moist enough not to flake, but not dripping.
Dry paper towels may be used to contain wet blood. Allow towels to dwell until dry. Flush in small quantities, or gently place inside two thick plastic bags. Seal tightly with duct tape. Directly dispose of in a landfill.
Dripping wet blood is considered biohazardous and universally considered infectious until proven otherwise. Contain blood from afar; disinfect it. Pour blood down the sanitary sewer if you are not going to seal it for transfer.
Thoroughly wash hands.
See Blood Cleanup 1, blood cleanup 2, and blood cleanup 3.
General. Universal precautions shall be observed to prevent contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials. Under circumstances in which differentiation between body fluid types is difficult or impossible, all body fluids shall be considered potentially infectious materials.
Useful disinfectants may be found here:
Blood Spills: see index at http://www.bccdc.org/downloads/pdf/epid/reports/CDManual_
Vinegar: http://www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com/vinegar-as-a-disinfectant.html