OSHA Definitions 1910.1030: Bloodborne Pathogens A-E

Here at Brooks Remediation, our highly trained and professional biohazard remediation personnel are not only dedicated to trauma cleanup, but education as well. We understand certain lingo may be used that you may be unfamiliar with, and as such we want to ensure you don’t feel more overwhelmed.

See below for an A-E glossary of frequently used words:

"Blood" means human blood, human blood components, and products made from human blood.

"Bloodborne Pathogens" means pathogenic microorganisms that are present in human blood and can cause disease in humans. These pathogens include, but are not limited to, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

"Clinical Laboratory" means a workplace where diagnostic or other screening procedures is performed on blood or other potentially infectious materials.

"Contaminated" means the presence or the reasonably anticipated presence of blood or other potentially infectious materials on an item or surface.

"Contaminated Laundry" means laundry that has been soiled with blood or other potentially infectious materials or may contain sharps.

"Contaminated Sharps" means any contaminated object that can penetrate the skin including, but not limited to, needles, scalpels, broken glass, broken capillary tubes, and exposed ends of dental wires.

"Decontamination" means the use of physical or chemical means to remove, inactivate, or destroy bloodborne pathogens on a surface or item to the point where they are no longer capable of transmitting infectious particles and the surface or item is rendered safe for handling, use, or disposal.

"Director" means the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or designated representative.

"Engineering Controls" means controls (e.g., sharps disposal containers, self-sheathing needles) that isolate or remove the bloodborne pathogens hazard from the workplace.

"Exposure Incident" means a specific eye, mouth, other mucous membrane, non-intact skin, or parenteral with blood or other potentially infectious materials that result from the performance of an employee's duties.

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

Suicide Warning Signs

As experts in suicide cleanup, we’ve seen first hand just how much suicide can impact the lives of loved ones. In an ideal world, such services would not be needed. Unfortunately, knowledge of suicidal warning signs and how to respond to them are important in working to prevent the incident from occurring:

Chart via HelpGuide.org

Should you know someone who is struggling with any of the above issues or is part of a demographic where suicide is a frequent cause of death, the extra attention that you pay to their actions and behaviors may just end up being the difference between life and death. For more information on helping a suicidal person, please visit HelpGuide.org here »

While we hope you'll never need our services - if a tragedy strikes, we'll be there to help.The moment we arrive, our teams are trained to use compassion, discretion and communication skills. They will take as much time as you need to understand the process, the costs and payment options. We will take pictures to help document the scene for you, and give you a written estimate.

Call Brooks Remediation today at 800-663-2854. Our technicians can get to you within 1-3 hours if you are in need of immediate response.

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