Cleaning up is Purdy's business

By Darlene Schnittker
St Augustine Record

Combine the elements of two current television shows -- "Dirty Jobs" with Mike Rowe and "CSI" -- and you have a pretty good description of Mark Purdy's job as a bio-recovery technician.

The focus of Purdy's job is to decontaminate and disinfect crime and trauma scenes. It is a dirty job, but, as anticipated, Purdy said, "Somebody has to do it."

"I feel as if I was called to do this," he said. "I thoroughly enjoy my job."

Purdy is available 24 hours a day. Most of his trauma calls are for suicide cleanup. After a crime or trauma occurs, detectives, EMTs, and evidence technicians perform their duties. A homeowner or business owner then contacts Purdy so he can provide the necessary clean up.

"I try to make it as convenient and discreet as possible for people," said Purdy.

For example, when he is called to a hotel for clean up after a trauma, he will wear regular clothing in the public areas of the hotel. He then enters the room, puts up the Do Not Disturb sign, then dons his hazardous material gear. This includes a disposable suit, a face mask and two pairs of gloves, which get taped to his sleeve to avoid contamination.

Purdy also wears a mask to avoid the smell. Sometimes he deals with bodies that are decomposing. A decomposing body swells and bacteria seep through the skin, leaking on to surfaces such as floors, mattresses, couches and walls.

Care must be taken to avoid bacteria and clean areas as much as possible.

Aside from the bodily fluids, the chemical used by the evidence technicians in fingerprinting the crime scene is extremely difficult to remove.

Purdy first takes pictures of the trauma scene and assesses the situation. He cleans from the worst area outward, decontaminating as he works. He uses enzymes to loosen up stain, a surfactant, a disinfectant and finally, a tuberculocide.

If liquid has pooled and has saturated the material, it will need to be removed, as it cannot be decontaminated. Purdy cuts material to fit in to a red hazardous material bag for disposal.

If a mattress has to be disposed, he cuts off the material, bags it, then decontaminates the metal springs and disposes of it.

Purdy will often use an ozone machine, which creates an 0 3 molecule, which, in turn, joins with an oxygen molecule to create a reaction that helps dissipate any odors.

"It makes the room smell like rain," said Purdy.

After the site has been cleaned and decontaminated, Purdy takes another set of pictures. Many times, according to Purdy, the homeowners are covered for this service under their insurance.

Purdy's work vehicle is set up to stage decontaminated materials for disposal. A portion of his truck is lined with Linix to transport the bio-hazardous material. He labels his truck while transporting this material to a state-approved facility where it will be incinerated.

Purdy decontaminates all of his equipment and truck and begins anew.

To become certified as a bio-recovery technician, Purdy attended a National Institute of Decontamination Specialists (NIDS) school in South Carolina. It is a hands-on training program that teaches students the proper techniques for bio-recovery clean-up, including what tools to use, which chemicals to use for specific situations and other safety issues.

On the last day of class, the owner of a slaughterhouse brings in pieces of cattle carcasses and the instructor sets up various scenarios in a makeshift house to enact trauma scenes. Students then role play and critique each other on the skills they have learned.

Mark Purdy of St. Johns BioRecovery may be reached 24 hours a day at 501-6412. His Web site is www.stjohnsbiorecovery.com.