Crime scene cleaners are knowledgeable about the dangers and risk associated with a crime scene cleanup hence they are glad to know that there is a PPE which gives them a good measure of protection when efficiently and effectively used.
What is PPE?
PPE stands for Personal Protective Equipment and it consists ofprotective gears that are designed to keep crime scene cleaners safe from the hazardous materials that are usually present on crime scenes. These gears cover the entire human body and are made up of different components. Here are some of them, and the purposes they serve:
For Face Protection
The face is probably the part of our body that is most susceptible to infectious diseases as many of these diseases are easily spread through inhalation. Other orifices such as the ears and mouth are also a good medium for harmful pathogens to get access into our body. The face must thus be seriously guarded, hence the need for the following PPE items
- Safety glasses
- Safety googles
- Face masks
- Face shields
- Respirators
If these items are efficiently combined, then the wearers’ head and face would be highly secured., thus greatly reducing the risk of a spread.
For Hand and Arm Protection
The hand being the part of your body that must surely come in contact with biohazards must also be highly protected so as to avoid self or cross contamination. The following items secures the hand and arm.
- Gloves
- Protective sleeves
There is a wide variety of gloves that cleaners use in a crime scene cleanup. These include latex gloves, vinyl gloves, mesh gloves, insulated gloves and nitrate gloves amongst others. The choice of which to use is entirely dependent on the type of crimes scene that needs cleaning and the kind of items that might be handled.
For Body Protection
The body also must be protected from debris that might be flying around in the crime scene and also against splashes that might compromise your safety. In this regard, the following serves for protection
- Safety coveralls or gowns
- Aprons
- Cooling vest
The safety coveralls are designed to be worn over regular shirts and pants and thus provide a somewhat double sense of protection to the cleaner.
For Foot Protection
A crime scene might feature sharp objects, probably from a broken window, that are lying around and may cause harm to those working the scene. These is just one of the kinds of harms that the PPE protects a cleaner from. For foot protection, the PPE features safety shoes that are of varied types. They can be full rubber boots, or steel-toed ones, simple protective boots or chemical resistant ones amongst others. The choice of which to use is also dependent on the type of crime scene that is being cleaned up.
Seeing as how a properly used PPE can create a barrier between the wearer and his environment, it should be the first thing on the list of thing you should get if you ever considering cleaning up a crime scene.
