Workplace Biohazard Cleanup
If an employee is hurt on the job, or blood or bodily fluids turn up in a restroom, break room or work area, you need the space cleaned properly. You also shouldn't ask staff to do it if they aren't trained and equipped for that work. We clean and disinfect the affected area, remove what can't be saved, and give you records for the incident file.
This page is written for supervisors, safety managers and HR staff. It covers where the OSHA bloodborne pathogens standard fits, what your own people should and shouldn't handle, and how we work around shifts.
Photo: Crew (Unsplash), CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Incidents that lead employers to call
Workplace calls rarely involve crime. Usually something ordinary has gone wrong:
- A cut or crush injury on a production line, in a shop or on a loading dock
- A fall from a ladder or stairs that leaves blood on flooring, handrails or equipment
- A restroom incident involving blood, vomit or feces that goes beyond routine custodial cleaning
- A medical event in a break room, office or vehicle bay
- An employee or visitor found deceased in a building, sometimes after a weekend or holiday closure
- Contamination discovered during a move, renovation or lease turnover
What these have in common is that the material has reached something porous, like carpet tiles, a cubicle panel, an upholstered chair or a ceiling tile. It may also be spread over an area that isn't fully visible, or it may be a scene that coworkers shouldn't have to face. In those cases a professional cleanup protects your staff and gives you a clear record of what was done.
Where the OSHA bloodborne pathogens standard fits
The OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030, applies to employers whose employees have occupational exposure. The standard defines that as reasonably anticipated contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM) while doing their jobs. Healthcare is the obvious example, but the standard can also reach employees whose duties include first aid, security or custodial work.
If it applies to you, the standard requires, among other things:
- A written exposure control plan, reviewed and updated at least once a year
- Training for employees with occupational exposure
- Personal protective equipment at no cost to the employee
- An offer of hepatitis B vaccination
- A confidential medical evaluation and follow-up after an exposure incident
- Decontamination of contaminated work surfaces with an appropriate disinfectant, and disposal of regulated waste under applicable rules
This is general information, not a compliance review. Your safety lead or legal counsel should decide how the standard applies to your operation. For a broader explanation of why the health risk matters, the CDC notes that hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV can spread through contact with infected blood.
What your employees handle and what to hand off
Many employers draw the line like this. It is a common pattern, not a legal rule, and your exposure control plan should be the guide.
Often handled in-house by trained staff
- Small drops of blood on a hard, non-porous surface, cleaned with the spill kit and PPE your plan provides
- First aid by designated, trained responders
- Closing off the area and keeping people away
- Recording the incident and any exposures
Usually handed to a cleanup contractor
- Blood or fluids soaked into carpet, upholstery, drywall or ceiling tiles
- Contamination spread across several rooms, levels or machines
- Any death on the premises
- Areas police have processed as a crime scene
- Situations your staff are not trained, equipped or willing to handle
Bringing us in does not remove your obligations under the standard toward your own employees. If anyone on staff had contact with blood before we arrived, your exposure control plan's post-exposure steps still apply. Our job is the cleanup itself. Your plan covers your people.
Restrooms, break rooms and shared spaces
Restrooms and break rooms come up often because they are shared, used constantly and hard to close for long.
Restrooms
Hard tile and porcelain usually clean well. The trouble spots are grout lines, the gap behind and beneath fixtures, partition bases, and any porous items nearby, like paper products or a soft-seat bench. We remove and dispose of contaminated consumables. Then we clean and disinfect every surface in the affected zone with EPA-registered disinfectants used according to label directions. If you have more than one restroom, we can plan the work so another stays open.
Break rooms and kitchens
Food-contact areas need extra care. Opened food, utensils and anything porous near the affected area are usually discarded rather than cleaned. We'll ask whether there are refrigerators, ice machines or coffee equipment in the zone. We'll also tell you what we recommend removing.
Offices and cubicles
Fabric cubicle panels, office chairs and carpet tiles absorb fluids. Carpet tiles can sometimes be swapped out individually, which keeps the affected area small. Our guide to what happens to contaminated porous materials explains how we make those calls.
How a workplace job runs around your shifts
Call and initial questions
We ask where the incident happened, whether anyone was hurt, whether police are involved, and when the area can be reached without disrupting production or customers.
Scheduling around operations
We can schedule work between shifts, overnight or on a weekend shutdown. Timing is confirmed by phone and depends on our schedule and the site's distance from Nashville.
Assessment and written scope
We inspect the affected area and the surrounding surfaces, then put the scope in writing for whoever approves spending. See what the assessment involves.
Containment, removal and disinfection
We isolate the work zone, remove contaminated porous materials, clean, then disinfect, and package waste for disposal under applicable Tennessee and federal requirements.
Handback and records
We walk the area with your representative and provide photos, the written scope and an itemized invoice.
What supervisors can do before we get there
- If anyone is injured or in danger, call 911 first.
- Keep employees out of the area. A closed door, caution tape or a blocked aisle is enough.
- Shut off nearby equipment if it is safe to do so, so nobody has to work near the area.
- Avoid running fans or portable air movers toward the area.
- Note who was present, who may have had contact with blood, and what areas were affected. Your exposure control plan and your incident records will need this.
- Check whether the event must be reported. Tennessee OSHA requires employers to report a work-related fatality within eight hours and an in-patient hospitalization, amputation or eye loss within a 24-hour window, with some exceptions. Details are on the TOSHA reporting page.
- Don't discard damaged equipment or stock until your insurer has had a chance to document it.
For more, see what not to do before a biohazard assessment.
What affects scope and cost
We bill per incident with no contract required, so you only pay for the job in front of you. The written scope sets the price, and these are the things that usually move it:
- The size of the affected area and how many rooms, aisles or machines are involved
- Whether porous materials like carpet tiles, ceiling tiles or panels must come out
- Equipment that needs cleaning around guards, belts or controls
- Height and access, such as mezzanines, lifts or confined spaces
- After-hours scheduling and the amount of containment needed to keep operations running
- Waste volume
For background, see how pricing works. If your organization prefers to start with a deposit, the Order Online page takes a $2,000 initial deposit. That is not the final price, and it does not fix a start time.
Questions people ask
Does hiring you satisfy our obligations under the bloodborne pathogens standard?
No. The standard puts duties on you as the employer toward your own employees, such as the exposure control plan, training and post-exposure follow-up. Hiring us handles the cleanup itself and keeps your staff from doing a task they may not be prepared for, but it doesn't replace your program.
An employee already started cleaning before we stopped them. What now?
Follow your exposure control plan. If they had contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials, that may be an exposure incident that calls for prompt medical evaluation. Then keep everyone out of the area until we arrive. Tell us what was already cleaned so we can check it.
Can you clean machinery or production equipment?
Often, yes, for external surfaces we can safely reach. Before we start, your maintenance team should lock out the equipment and remove any guards that need to come off. Internal components and electronics may need the manufacturer's guidance. We'll tell you during the assessment what we can and can't do.
Can our employees stay in the building while you work?
Usually, as long as the work zone is closed off and nobody needs to pass through it. For larger jobs, or ones near shared air handling, we may recommend scheduling the work when the building is empty.
Will you talk to our employees about what happened?
No. We speak with the person managing the incident and keep the details to ourselves. If staff ask our technicians questions, we refer them to you.
Sources
Get the area off your team's hands
Call (615) 513-5112 to describe the incident and your shift schedule. We'll plan the visit around your operation and put the scope in writing before work begins.
