Thinking About the Unthinkable: Establishing a Standard for Trauma and Crime Scenes

No one wants to think about a crime or traumatic event occurring within one’s facility. But sadly, these events do happen, and it’s important for your facility to be ready to deal with their reality.

Tending to such scenarios properly is also a very specialized offering that building service contractors (BSCs) could consider adding to their repertoire as a way of differentiating their business from the competition.

The Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) recently opened a public review of the revised draft of IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup. The IICRC S540 Standard establishes the procedures and methodology to be followed when inspecting and investigating blood and other potentially infectious material (OPIM) contamination. It also defines precautions to be aware of when performing trauma and crime scene cleanup.

The following components of the draft can serve as a checklist to compare and discern the completeness and competency of your own policies and procedures. Do they address a crime scene or a traumatic event? Has your facility adopted such a standard? If so, does it consider and cover all the listed components?

• Principles of trauma and crime scene cleanup
• Safety and health
• Biocide and antimicrobial technology
• Administrative procedures, documentation, and risk management
• Inspection and preliminary determination
• Equipment and tools
• Limitations, complexities, complications, and conflicts
• Structural remediation
• Vehicle and machinery construction
• Contents remediation
• Containment and disposal of waste or sharps
• Confirmation of cleanliness.

The standard is available for review and comment as part of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) 45-day public review period until March 6. Download the revised draft standard and submit your comments online here.