What are Bloodborne Pathogens?

 

As we’ve mentioned throughout our blog, we consistently urge you to leave remediation to the professionals. Not only for your safety, but for the safety of others as well. Here’s why:

Bloodborne pathogens are infectious microorganisms in human blood that can cause disease in humans. They are easily transmitted through contact with another’s blood or bodily fluids (whether they are wet or dry). These pathogens include, but are not limited to, hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) - all of which are very serious, incurable, and life-threatening.

Most of the time, exposure to these pathogens occurs when an untrained individual enters a contaminated crime-scene area without wearing the proper protective clothing, uses an inappropriate disposal container for a contaminated item, or is accidentally cut by a sharp contaminated object or needle. It’s important to understand that many types of bacteria can survive for days, weeks, or even months on inanimate surfaces and can lay dormant for an indefinite time until rewetted posing a serious health risk once again.

When we receive a call from a concerned client regarding the remediation of a scene, we respond within 1-3 hours. Specializing in Emergency Response, we urge you not to act first to ensure the safety of everyone directly or indirectly involved.

Trust Brooks Remediation for professional and safe bloodborne pathogen and crime scene cleanup to ensure your home is restored to its original, safe condition. Contact us today and allow our empathetic and professional staff members alleviate the burden and responsibility involved in the cleanup and disinfection off of your shoulders, and on to ours. 800-663-2854

Luminol: What is it? How Does it Work?

Any fan of forensic TV shows know, that when an investigation occurs at the scene of a crime - chances are a substance is sprayed over the ground and moments later blood splatter is revealed. While there is a lot of exaggerated technology in TV shows or movies, this special chemical is entirely real.

Luminol - a powdery compound made up of nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon. When mixed with an appropriate oxidizing agent, luminol exhibits a striking blue glow when it detects trace amounts of blood as it reacts with iron found in hemoglobin. Unlike TV shows however, the glow is much shorter lived - lasting only around thirty seconds.

Photo via Flickr / Jack Spades

To perform a luminol test, the criminalists spray a mixture of luminal powder plus a liquid containing hydrogen peroxide, a hydroxide, and other chemicals, wherever they think blood may be found. If the hemoglobin (even if wiped up) and luminol mixture come in contact, a cyclic peroxide is produced by the reaction, which quickly decomposes to give a chemical called 3-aminophthalate. As explained by Compound Interest:

“[This] reaction releases energy, which is transferred to electrons in the 3-aminophthalate molecules, promoting them to a higher energy level. As the electrons drop down to a more stable energy level, they release their excess energy as photons of light, resulting in blue chemiluminescence. Luminol can detect the presence of blood at dilutions of up to 1:1,000,000, or 1 part per million.”

It is important to note that luminol typically only shows investigators that there might be blood in an area, given that other substances like bleach and urine can cause luminol to glow. When this occurs, other tests must be run to verify it is really human blood.

In itself, luminol will not solve a murder case, however it is a step in the investigative process that can reveal essential information. On the down side, it can also result in a chemical reaction that destroys other evidence from a crime scene - so it is used cautiously and only when necessary.

For more information on luminol and its use in investigations, please click here. 

Trust Brooks Remediation for professional and safe bloodborne pathogen and crime scene cleanup to ensure your home is restored to its original, safe condition. Contact us today and allow our empathetic and professional staff members alleviate the burden and responsibility involved in the cleanup and disinfection off of your shoulders, and on to ours. 800-663-2854

Crime Scene Cleanup NYC

Do you need Crime Scene Cleanup, Unattended Death Cleanup, Suicide Cleanup, or Hoarding Services in the New York area? Give Brooks Remediation a call. Currently servicing all of Long Island and NYC’s five boroughs, we are dedicated to assisting people and communities when tragedy strikes.

At Brooks Remediation, we help take the burden and responsibility involved in the cleanup and disinfection off of our client’s shoulders, and on to ours. With 24/7 year-round immediate dispatch, we provide full-compliant cleanup services for law enforcement, first responders, coroners, and public service agencies.

We pride ourselves on prompt, professional service and back all of our work with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

While we hope you'll never need our services - if a tragedy strikes, we'll be there to help. Contact us today and trust Brooks Remediation for professional and safe bloodborne pathogen cleanup, to ensure that your home and property are protected after any death or trauma scene has occurred.

Pricing and Payment Options - How Much Does Crime Scene Cleanup Cost?

Depending the situation, the cost of remediating biohazards can vary dramatically. In order to give an estimate, a proper assessment must be completed. When you call us, we’ll arrive immediately and prepare a detailed scope of work and a written estimate of our recommended treatment plan.

Pricing factors can include:

• Number of rooms affected (including pathways/hallways)
• Level of structural damage (floors, cabinetry, wall surfaces)
• Length of time left unattended
• Complications including hoarding, machinery, or large amounts of personal property like clothing and furniture

Our hourly rates are industry standard to insurance industry pricing tools, Blue Book and Xactimate. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and staff all job sites with a minimum of one foreman and one technician for safety and efficiency reasons.

For more information about insurance and payment options, please visit our website.

Trust Brooks Remediation for professional and safe bloodborne pathogen and crime scene cleanup to ensure your home is restored to its original, safe condition. Contact us today and allow our empathetic and professional staff members alleviate the burden and responsibility involved in the cleanup and disinfection off of your shoulders, and on to ours. 800-663-2854

About Our Services: Infectious Disease

Brooks Remediation treats all crime scenes and blood spills as if they contain life threatening infection, and with good reason.

Did you know even the smallest trace of blood or biological materials can present risks from bacteria and bloodborne diseases? While you can’t see these diseases, they are severe enough to cause illness or even death should they not have been cleaned properly. Some viruses can remain dormant and reactive when exposed to water, putting you and your family at risk long after the incident.

Brooks Remediation ensures the safest bloodborne pathogen cleanup, using the same techniques the food prep facilities, health care, and manufacturing companies use to eradicate disease. For more information on the steps to our infectious disease/bloodborne pathogen cleanup please visit our website here »

Trust Brooks Remediation for professional and safe bloodborne pathogen and crime scene cleanup to ensure your home is restored to its original, safe condition. (888) 567-0545

About Our Services: Crime Scene Cleanup

Crime scene clean up, whether it be a homicide or a suicide, should not be handled by someone who has not been professionally trained. Crime scenes can be littered with biohazards like HIV/AIDS, MRSA, Hepatitis C, dangerous chemicals, and other hidden biohazards.

Brooks Remediation has EPA approved chemicals and equipment to deal with any crime scene or biohazard a situation might present. Our goal is to restore your home or business to its normal state prior to the incident. 

Our crime scene cleanup technicians have been handpicked for their empathy and attention to detail, as well as ensure the protection of your privacy. A Brooks Remediation team will arrive as soon as possible and work to clean, disinfect, and remove all contamination from the scene. 

While we hope you'll never need our services - if a tragedy strikes, we'll be there to help. Learn more about our crime scene clean up on our website »

Contact us today and allow our empathetic and professional staff members alleviate the burden and responsibility involved in the cleanup and disinfection off of your shoulders, and on to ours.  800-663-2854

Stay Informed - Tips on Handling a Crisis Situation

We’ve all said it before, “that will never happen to me.” While we sincerely hope you don’t ever have to utilize our services, we also know how unpredictable life can be and as such it’s important to stay informed.

Staying informed means knowing what to do when a crisis happens. It means being prepared before, during and after an emergency. This can make all the difference in responding to a situation that requires having a clear head, in a time where things may be cloudy.

Below are some tips on handling a crisis situation:

• Contact a certified and licensed cleaning company, like us here at Brooks Remediation
• If at all possible, avoid being inside the scene. Once the cleaning company arrives, they will issue you appropriate personal protective equipment to ensure safety.
• Close off the rest of the house and create a direct route in and out of the contaminated area for emergency personnel/police/coroner etc.
• To avoid tracking infectious materials, do not enter back into the non-contaminated area without removing shoes and leaving them outside.
• If you’ve come in contact with blood or OPIM with or without wearing gloves, wash your hands thoroughly. Also, wear a paper dust mask if infectious materials could be in the air.
• If you came into direct contact with blood or OPIM you should go to the emergency room and tell them you came into contact with blood and need prophylactic treatment and evaluation.
• If a majority of the business or dwelling has blood or bodily fluids you should evacuate the area and stay with friends, family or in a hotel. This is only in extreme circumstances where there is blood or OPIM spread throughout 90% of the area.

At Brooks Remediation, our highly trained and professional biohazard remediation personnel is dedicated to helping people and communities when tragedy strikes. Contact us today and allow our empathetic and professional staff members alleviate the burden and responsibility involved in the cleanup and disinfection off of your shoulders, and on to ours.  800-663-2854

What Makes Brooks Remediation Different?

Homicides, unattended deaths, blood spills, etc. are all tragic events that no one plans on experiencing in their lifetime. As such, dealing and coping with the aftermath of these happenings is incredibly difficult. Tacking on the thought of restoring your home or the vicinity to its natural state can be overwhelming. It is important that no one attempt to clean up a scene if they have not been professionally trained. Not only can this be traumatic for friends and family, but very dangerous as well.

Over 20 years ago, The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) developed the Blood borne Pathogen Standard and The Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act to protect workers whose occupations expose them to dangerous, life threatening blood borne pathogens. Compliance with these standards are mandatory by federal law.

The following are the steps we take to remain in compliance and provide a healthy and safe work environment for our workers and the public:

• Exposure Control Plan
• Implementation and usage of UNIVERSAL precautions
• Usage of engineering controls
• Usage of work practice controls
• Appropriate personal protective equipment
• Hepatitis B Vaccinations for all employees
• Post exposure care and follow up
• Appropriate training and certifications for all employees
• Labels and signs for hazard communication
• Worker medical and training logs

Learn more about why compliance is key to prevention on our website.

At Brooks Remediation, our highly trained and professional biohazard remediation personnel is dedicated to helping people and communities when tragedy strikes. Contact us today and allow our empathetic and professional staff members alleviate the burden and responsibility involved in the cleanup and disinfection off of your shoulders, and on to ours. 800-663-2854