Which Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) You Should Use and When

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is used in biohazard clean-up processes in order to prevent the contagion of any illness or the occurrence of injury.

Donning the right type of PPE is rudimentary as a large part of biohazard clean-up processes are done by humans, who are equally vulnerable in getting infected or injured during/after the process. Whether it is a clean-up professional or a layman who handles the biohazard situation before the professionals’ arrive, using the right type of PPE is a MUST.

PPE can range from hard hats to face mask to body suits to protective footwear. It is essential to know which PPE to use and when.

Head Protection

The preferred and trusted choice for head protection is a hard hat. It shields the human head from getting injured by any collapsing or falling objects. It also reduces electrical shock exposures or burns to the head. In biohazard clean-up, hard hats can be of tremendous help during fire damage restoration.

Face Protection

A face shield is used to protect the face from any debris, flying particles, dust, radiation, vapours, chemical splashes, flames and potentially infectious bodily fluids. The face shield is used in conjunction with goggles, which serves the same purpose for the eyes. Respiratory protection should also be used in order to prevent inhalation of harmful chemicals and substances.

Face protection is a must in most of biohazard clean-ups, especially, meth lab cleaning, fire damage restoration and mould clean-up.

Hand Protection

Gloves must be used to prevent infection from bodily fluids, harmful substances, chemical burns, electrical shocks, abrasions, cuts, gashes, punctures, fractures and amputations. Elbow-length gloves or finger guards must be used if the need arises. One must select the correct variety of gloves to be used, depending on the nature of the situation. The types of gloves available are synthetic gloves, leather gloves, mesh gloves, canvas gloves, aramid fibre gloves and aluminised gloves. It is important to note that once used, gloves must be disposed. Using second-hand gloves is as good as handling the biohazard with bare hands. Hand protection is of a primary importance in handling biohazard clean-up, involving blood and other bodily fluids.

Body Protection

Body suits or vests should be used to protect the body from exposure to blood, blood borne pathogens and accidents. These protective coveralls are also used in various clean-up processes, especially in Dry Ice Blasting. 

Contact Bio Cleanse Pty Ltd for Bio Hazard Cleaning services.

How is sewage spill hazardous

Sewage can include raw sewage, black water, sludge or septic tank waste. It consists of biological waste, excrement, industrial effluents, debris and biohazardous trash. Sewage spills occur when the conduit of this wastewater undergoes a breakdown in the form of a broken pipe, manhole or overflowing. 

Sewage spills cause health hazards, damage homes and businesses and threaten the ecology. Humans are at a greater risk for getting affected due to the presence of various pathogens that can have a serious impact on human health. 

Sewage water can cause a wide range of fungal, bacterial and viral hazards in buildings. They are transmitted to other surrounding areas by movement of people from contaminated areas, tracking contaminated soil, movement of particles and infected particles through the medium of air. 

The following diseases are likely to be caused through a sewage spill:

• Tetanus – The bacteria enters the body through wounds and affects the nervous system, hindering the interaction between the nervous system and the respective muscle, especially at the neuromuscular junction.

• Hepatitis A – It is a viral disease affecting the liver system, which can cause mild to severe illness. Treatment can take weeks.

• Leptospirosis – A bacterial disease that can affect the kidney, liver and is responsible for respiratory diseases. Gastrointestinal infections like vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. 

• Infections by Cryptosporidium & Giardia – Cryptosporidium stick to the walls of the small intestine and cause watery diarrhoea, whereas Giardia causes abdominal cramps, bloating, nausea and bouts of watery diarrhoea.

Exposure to these diseases caused by harmful pathogens occur when people come in contact with the sewage spill during eating, drinking, skin contact, handling sharps and contaminated gloves. It is essential to get the sewage spill cleared, before it is too late and takes toll on our health. 

Bio-Cleanse offers comprehensive Sewage Cleaning services. 

Visit www.bio-cleanse.com.au or http://www.bio-cleanse.com.au/services/sewage-clean-up/ for more information!

20 Common Thoughts Inside a Hoarder’s Mind

Hoarding is not a mere accumulation of useless junk. 

It involves many thought processes with the decision to discard. These thought processes impinge on the hoarder’s decision-making process which ultimately results in the item not being discarded. 

Following are some common thoughts what a hoarder is likely to think.

1. “I’ll throw this away later…”
2. “I might need this at a future time…”
3. “I do not know where to store this. It doesn’t belong anywhere.”
4. “I have a feeling that I will clean up soon and that is when I will need some items I have collected.”
5. “This item might be valuable in the future and if I discard it, I will be at a loss.”
6. “I need to prepare myself for the next Great Depression!”
7. “These things offer me a sense of comfort. I am inaccessible to anyone. No one would dare come close to the pile, leave alone me. Hence I am protected.”
8. “These items are actually gifts from someone close. How can I even think of discarding them?”
9. “This reminds me of my lost loved one…it is perhaps the last piece of interaction I have between us two”
10. “My loved one, whom I lost years ago, liked these items. I believe s/he will come someday to collect it.”
11. “I collect these things so that I can possibly gift them to someone later.”
12. “I might be financially deprived to afford these items. Hence, I need to save them, even if they are small things like wrapping paper or ribbons.”
13. “I need to keep this item so that I remember something which I am likely to forget at a future date.”
14. “I feel relieved when I discard my stuff. However, once it’s done, I feel suddenly exposed. They are my safety pile.”
15. “Survival is about being prepared. Hence, I need to collect these items. I need to rely on myself and not on anybody”
16. “People can walk out of your lives. Things don’t.”
17. “Discarding these items makes me feel guilty about discarding it. Like it’s a criminal thing to do.”
18. “Right now, I do not have the time at my disposal to sort through these things. I will keep them here, so I can go through them, another day.”
19. “It gives me an excuse to get out of social obligation. I can always say I can’t go to a party because I have so much cleaning to do.”
20. “I believe in recycle and reuse.”

Contact Bio-Cleanse for Hoarding Cleanup and Management Services. 

Visit www.biocleanse.com.au for more information.

Reporting During a Bio-Hazard Cleanup

A bio-hazard occurrence like murder, blood spill, accidents and water damage can uncover a host of infections, many of which remain undetectable by the naked eye. Even if the area appears virtually clean after evacuation of the bio-hazard materials, infections can seep deep into crevices and pores of surrounding materials. For example, in the event of a murder, the blood might be splattered in various areas and spills can get into absorbent wooden floor or walls or matting. Hence, it is necessary that a cent per cent clean up be carried out to eliminate all risks of potential diseases and infections. 

It is necessary to hire a professional cleaning service, as bio-hazardous waste can have a serious impact on other untrained professionals such as insurance agents or police personnel. When the lights of the ambulance and police cars depart, it is the cleaning professionals who take up the charge. And the cleaning is more than a matter of just mop up and trash. It involves thorough assessment of the area, application of proper and safe scientific procedures, following of fixed protocols and protection of the contaminated area from further infecting the surrounding inmates or neighbours. 

One important step in the bio-remediation process is thorough documentation or reporting. This documentation starts right from the planning stage to completion. Every step, every protocol used, every methodology and every assessment procedure should be properly reported by the professionals along with the respective on-site photographs. The documentation should also give a risk analysis of the exposure to disease and infections before and after the cleanup. In the end, the company should give a catalog of the particular in-situ bioremediation process.

The documentation process has manifold uses. Not only does it adhere to a systematic approach of a critical situation like a bio-hazard event, it also facilitates smooth settlements between the policy holder and the insurance company in the process of making any claims of loss. It will also make both the parties understand why some structural materials were removed or disposed or displaced or altered.

At Bio-Cleanse Pty Ltd, we are adept at handling all types of bio-remediation and cleaning services with thorough documentation and reporting procedures. Visit www.bio-cleanse.com.au to avail of our services.

Tips to prevent fire accidents at home

Do you know that a serious fire accident can burn your entire house or building in minutes?

Thousands of people die in fire accidents all over the globe annually. Fire accidents are more common in homes than any other place. Here are a few tips that can avoid all this. 

Clean your chimneys: Matter like creosote residue can clog your chimney and catch fire. Your chimney should be inspected and cleaned regularly. Use a cap to prevent debris clogging the flue. 

Flammable Liquids: These should be kept in well ventilated areas and securely sealed in appropriate containers. 

Furnaces: Gas furnaces should be inspected periodically for cracks in burners and heat exchangers. Also, furnace filters must be replaced periodically to prevent the furnace from overheating. 

Over loaded circuits: Too many appliances connected to a single outlet or circuit overloads the circuit wiring, which may lead to short-circuits. 

Refrigerator: Clean the coils which are typically accessible under the unit. When coils become coated with dust, their cooling ability diminishes. Overheating can cause an electrical fire. 

Smoke detectors: Place a smoke detector outside each room. 

Stoves: Never leave a stove on or even unattended. This is another cause for fire damages in houses. 

Wiring should be proper: All inside wiring should be properly insulated. Faulty wiring can cause fire damage instantly. A qualified specialist is required when handling/undertaking such work. 

Clothes dryers: Ensure vents and filters are cleared from any accumulation which can cause dryers to overheat. 

Hope these tips will help you to stay alert and avoid any future disasters from occurring. For services regarding fire damage restoration you can contact us on 042 741 1789 or visit http://www.bio-cleanse.com.au/.

How dry ice blasting fits into the CSR strategy

With the rise of global warming and other environmental problems the world is facing today, there has been a strong call for businesses, whether small or large, to adhere to eco-friendly practices. This is where CSR has come up as a sounding board for companies to measure their practices along three dimensions – people, planet and profit. CSR stands for Corporate Social Responsibility. It is a management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns to be in tandem with business operations and interactions.

Some of the thrust areas under the CSR are eco-efficiency; operational costs savings and workers safety. Under CSR, businesses work towards refining the business operations in terms of the impact it will have on the wellbeing of the staff, community and the environment in general. 

Dry Ice Blasting is a type of cleaning which is employed in aerospace, food and beverage, foundry and historical restoration. It uses Dry Ice pellets which are blasted onto the contaminated surface, severing the dirt from the surface. The pellets undergo sublimation, whereby it is directly transformed from solid state to gas state without passing the liquid state. This is advantageous as the dry ice will vanish, leaving only the cleaned debris behind. Hence, there is no other secondary residual waste to be cleaned. This is unlike traditional cleaning methods such as soda blasting, sand blasting and water blasting, which leave behind a great deal of secondary waste for cleanup.

Therefore, Dry Ice Blasting fits into the CSR strategy for the following reasons: 

• It leaves back no carbon footprint. Hence business operations are able to swing back into routine within less downtime. It saves time for business productivity. 

• Since it leaves no residue and is not a chemical cleaning process, worker safety and health is ensured. There is no risk of exposure to airborne chemical residues for workers. 

• Dry Ice Blasting doesn’t use water as a medium. Hence, the risk for mould or mildew is eliminated. 

• Since there is no need for secondary cleanup, additional costs are eliminated. 

• It is non-abrasive, non-flammable and non-conductive. 

• As there is no emission of harmful gases or substances into the environment, it is not a hazardous process for the ecosystem. 

• The Dry Ice pellets are manufactured by recycling Carbon Dioxide. 

Bio-Cleanse provide professional Dry Ice Blasting services, besides many others. To harness this eco-friendly cleaning process, visit www.bio-cleanse.com.au/services/dry-ice-blasting/ for more information.

JAIL/PRISON CELL CLEANUP

Incarceration cells or jails often conjure the image of a gloomy room with one-away entry and exit that is filled with dust, dirt and odour. One is led to believe that this is as cleanest it can get. On several occasions, a prison cell becomes the scene of various bio-hazardous wastes such as sweat, faeces, urine, vomit, bodily fluids, saliva or blood.

Cleaning the aforementioned scenario is a professional task as lay people are not readily willing to help in the cleanup process. Secondly, cleaning such bio-hazardous waste is a risky affair as it is a carrier of many pathogens which can cause diseases such as AIDS, Tuberculosis and Hepatitis C. Thirdly, prompt cleaning intervention is necessary, as officials working in the prison such as policemen and staff can get infected by the exposure to these pathogens.

A thorough bio-hazardous cleaning is a must due the following scenarios, as listed below:

• The prisoners can engage in a dirty protest – a situation where by they will involve in defecating or urinating in cell quarters or themselves, as a form of fighting back. Sometimes, they might do so as a symptom of a psychological problem. 
• The pathogens can lodge into cracks and crevices of the walls. 
• Communal areas are being used by many inmates and can be the site for bio-hazardous wastes. 
• Cleaning calls for professional intervention as health and safety regulations have to be adhered to. 
• The inmates can get into fights or brawls where there can be a lot of sweat and bloodshed. 
• Prison lockers need to be professionally cleaned, as pathogens can be left behind if the lockers were used to contain blood-covered objects/clues. If the lockers are used to store handcuffs that were used on suspects, then this also calls for intervention. 

Due to the confined nature of the prison cells, rapid contagion is highly probable. Hence, quick and professionally cleaning bio-hazardous wastes in prison is imperative. Contacting professional services can also guarantee operational efficiency and minimum time required to bounce back to routine activities.

Bio-Cleanse provides prison decontamination services.

Visit www.biocleanse.com.au/ for more information or call us at 042 741 1789.