Crime scene cleanup grows with the need for professional cleaning. Crime scene cleanup's vocabulary emerges as practitioner coin new terms and recognize useful terms.

Acute economic anomie: sporadic decreases in the ability of traditional institutions (such as religion, guilds, pre-industrial social systems, etc.) to regulate and fulfill social needs. Durkheim (Return to Suicide Cleanup)

Bleedout - A bleedout may occur when the victim loses all or most of their blood. This crime scene occurs most often with small bullet wounds to the skull or knife or razor blade wounds (verticle cuts to the wrists) (See walking bleedout). The victim survives the wound for some time, giving the heart time to pump blood from the body. This cleanup is commonly found on suicide scenes.

Example: Victim's wound to the head results from small caliber handgun (22). Victim survives on a floor for one day, slowly bleeding from the wound. (see migration)

Bleed-outs do not usually occur from wounds by large caliber weapons. Instant death does not leave the heart time to continue pumping the victims remaining blood. Bleedouts often occur from illnesses and diseases. (see walking blood out)

Bioload -In the context of a crime scene, the term bioload relates to the micro-organic matter dispersed by traumatic action. The vast majority of environments on Earth, internal and external, carry some level of micro-organic activity. A crime scene will have a high bioload following a traumatic incident. The bioload will be significantly reduced by thorough cleaning of the scene. There are few environments on Earth without some sort of bioload. "Clean rooms" for computer research as well as other scientifically oriented environments are among the few places without a detectable bioload. (Return to Crime Scene Cleanup)

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

HBV - Hepatitis B Virus.

HCV - Hepatitis C Virus.

HIV - Human Immunodeficiency Virus.
(Return to Crime Scene Cleanup)

Bloody Mary - A hand-tool for cutting dense fabric, including carpet. The name arises from the tool's working end, which has a sharp cutting end on both sides of its blade.

Body Movers - Body movers are found in government and small business activities. In government, local coroner and medical examiner offices emply body movers. In business, body movers may include morticians hired by cemetaries and mortuaries. There are individually ran business and small business concerns dedicated to the movement of human bodies following death. Dead body cleanup may follow the body movers.

Cellulosic - Matter consisting of cellular structures. In nature, plants and animals consist of tiny cells. Man-made products consisting of natural ingrediants also contain these cells. Manufactured goods, especiall carpet padd and dry-wall are cellular. Cellulosic materials will easily become permeated by miasma. (return)

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

Contaminated Sharps - any contaminated object that is sharp or has the potential to be a sharp that can penetrate the skin including, but not limited to, needles, scalpels, broken glass, broken capillary tubes, and exposed ends of dental wires.

Decontamination - the use of physical or chemical means to remove, inactivate, or destroy bloodborne pathogens on an item or surface 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.

Decontamination – The process of removing pathogenic microorganisms from objects or surfaces, thereby rendering them safe for handling. fhd

Effluents - Usually used in the context of a biological discharge from a sewer system, in the context of human trauma cleaning, "effluents" is used to denote discharge from the body following death.

Embedding - The use of sealers and other chemicals to pretreat the bioload for handling, transport, and storage. Embedding is also useful for reducing the odor and objectionable elements of a death scene.

nep·o·tism Pronunciation[nep-uh-tiz-uhm] patronage bestowed or favoritism shown on the basis of family relationship, as in business and politics: She was accused of nepotism when she made her nephew an officer of the firm.

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Migration

Migration includes the flow of blood and OPIM across floors by the force of graivty. Few surfaces are actually flat. As a result, blood follows the surface's tilt. Blood quickly migrates between lenoleum flooring if an earlier piece of lenoleum remains below.

Blood expelled on a second floor may flow to a wall, enter a crack or seam, drip to a sub-floor, across beams to the ceiling below, and then through the ceiling to the room below. This is rare, but given the conditions, it will and does happen. Two bleedouts in a small area may provide the needed conditions. Double homicides, double suicides, and murder suicides committed upon the right surface can raise much havoc for the cleaner. The migrated blood and OPIM must be "chased." (return)

Nepotism - nep·o·tism - A term applied to ruling class privilege as property, power, and wealth were handed down throughout history; Its generalized meaning includes clan, family privilege, property, and power shared among the "inner-circle." In crime scene cleanup cronyism, the term relates to government offices, such as the coroner and medical examiners' offices hoarding and dispatching cleaning opportunities to relatives and friends. In some areas of the US the practice is carried out as a pragmatic response because their are few if any crime scene cleaners to service families in need.

New Car Smell - The new car smell is what I call a "composite" odor. It arises from the many fabrics and plastics installed in new vehicles. Some people find the fragrance of new cars appealing, others find it offensive. "the odor consists of possibly hazardous volatile chemicals and could be a possible health risk." (return)

Occupational Exposure - any reasonably anticipated skin, eye, mucous membrane, or parenteral contact (i.e. piercing through the skin or mucous membrane) with blood or other potentially infectious materials (see below) that may result from the performance of an employee's duties.

OHS/SHS - IUPUI Occupational Health Services/Student Health Services

Other Potentially Infectious Material (OPIM) - materials other than blood, which pose a potential health risk, including:

1) The following human body fluids: semen, vaginal secretions, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, pleural fluid, pericardial fluid, peritoneal fluid, amniotic fluid, saliva in dental procedures, any body fluid that is visibly contaminated with blood, and all body fluids in situations where it is difficult or impossible to differentiate between body fluids;

2) Any unfixed tissue or organ (other than intact skin) from a human (living or dead);

3) All human or primate cell or tissue cultures, organ cultures, and cell lines (including established, continuous cell lines). HIV or HBV containing culture medium or other solutions; and blood, organs, or other tissues from experimental animals infected with HIV or HBV should be considered potentially infectious;

4) Blood or body fluids of animals that have been intentionally or are suspected of having been exposed to pathogens in research, in production of biologicals, in the in vivo testing of pharmaceuticals, or other procedures.

PPE - Personal Protective Equipment. In concept, similar to, but different from the US Army's Mission Oriented Protective Posture, MOPP suite.

Regulated Waste - liquid or semi-liquid blood or other potentially infectious material; contaminated items that would release blood or other potentially infectious material in a liquid or semi-liquid state if compressed; items that are caked with dried blood or other potentially infectious materials and are capable of releasing these materials during handling; contaminated sharps; and pathological and microbiological wastes containing blood or other potentially infectious material.

Reduction - Refers to the removal of bio-waste.

Site Reduction - Removing by cleaning and disposal of bio-waste.

Sterilize - the use of a physical or chemical procedure to destroy all microbial life.

Surficants - A general term that includes soap. Surfactants lower water's surface tension. As they soften water's surface, the water carries away soiled matter more easily. Place oil in water gives a hint of the chemicle divide between water and oil. Placing a surfacant in a bucket containing water and oil removes the divide between the two.the surface tension of water by adsorbing at the liquid-gas interface.

Tier - A level of blood and OPIM contamination - - Used as a point of reference to communicate degree of contamination and degree of cleaning progress.

Universal Precautions - An approach to infection control, which treats all blood and other potentially infectious materials as if known to be infectious for HIV, HBV, and other bloodborne pathogens. This approach includes the use of barrier precautions by employees to prevent direct skin, parenteral, or mucus membrane contact with blood or other body fluids that are visibly contaminated with blood.

Walking Bleedout - A victim continues to walk after being wounded. Blood flows from the wound.

The victim may bleed from an injury or illness while walking about. Liver dysfunctions from alcoholism, Hepatitus C, and other ailments lead to profuse bleeding from the anus. Hepaditus C patients may begin dying while sitting on the toilet, walk to other rooms, all the while soiling the floor and furniture.

Extensive bleedouts occur from liver dysfunctioning while the deceased was heavily intoxicated. Heavily intoxicated victimes may bleedout may from self-inflicted wounds unperceived while the deceased was intoxicated. (return to bleedout) This form of "bleedout" is not what is meant by migration.

Wicking - A candle will draw melted wax to its burning wick as its add this fuel to the flam. It is a similar force at work when carpet "wicks up" soil as the carpet drys. It is the same force as drywall "wicks up" moisture, including blood and OPIM. These examples are forms of migration.

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