6 reasons why people commit suicide

by Alex Lickerman, MD

Though I’ve never lost a friend or family member to suicide, I have lost a patient.

I have known a number of people left behind by the suicide of people close to them, however. Given how much losing my patient affected me, I’ve only been able to guess at the devastation these people have experienced. Pain mixed with guilt, anger, and regret makes for a bitter drink, the taste of which I’ve seen take many months or even years to wash out of some mouths.

The one question everyone has asked without exception, that they ache to have answered more than any other, is simply, why?


Why did their friend, child, parent, spouse, or sibling take their own life? Even when a note explaining the reasons is found, lingering questions usually remain: yes, they felt enough despair to want to die, but why did they feel that? A person’s suicide often takes the people it leaves behind by surprise (only accentuating survivor’s guilt for failing to see it coming).

People who’ve survived suicide attempts have reported wanting not so much to die as to stop living, a strange dichotomy but a valid one nevertheless. If some in-between state existed, some other alternative to death, I suspect many suicidal people would take it. For the sake of all those reading this who might have been left behind by someone’s suicide, I wanted to describe how I was trained to think about the reasons people kill themselves. They’re not as intuitive as most think.

In general, people try to kill themselves for six reasons:

1. They’re depressed. This is without question the most common reason people commit suicide. Severe depression is always accompanied by a pervasive sense of suffering as well as the belief that escape from it is hopeless. The pain of existence often becomes too much for severely depressed people to bear. The state of depression warps their thinking, allowing ideas like “Everyone would all be better off without me” to make rational sense. They shouldn’t be blamed for falling prey to such distorted thoughts any more than a heart patient should be blamed for experiencing chest pain: it’s simply the nature of their disease.

Because depression, as we all know, is almost always treatable, we should all seek to recognize its presence in our close friends and loved ones. Often people suffer with it silently, planning suicide without anyone ever knowing. Despite making both parties uncomfortable, inquiring directly about suicidal thoughts in my experience almost always yields an honest response. If you suspect someone might be depressed, don’t allow your tendency to deny the possibility of suicidal ideation prevent you from asking about it.

2. They’re psychotic. Malevolent inner voices often command self-destruction for unintelligible reasons. Psychosis is much harder to mask than depression — and arguably even more tragic. The worldwide incidence of schizophrenia is 1% and often strikes otherwise healthy, high-performing individuals, whose lives, though manageable with medication, never fulfill their original promise.

Schizophrenics are just as likely to talk freely about the voices commanding them to kill themselves as not, and also, in my experience, give honest answers about thoughts of suicide when asked directly. Psychosis, too, is treatable, and usually must be for a schizophrenic to be able to function at all. Untreated or poorly treated psychosis almost always requires hospital admission to a locked ward until the voices lose their commanding power.

3. They’re impulsive. Often related to drugs and alcohol, some people become maudlin and impulsively attempt to end their own lives. Once sobered and calmed, these people usually feel emphatically ashamed. The remorse is usually genuine, and whether or not they’ll ever attempt suicide again is unpredictable. They may try it again the very next time they become drunk or high, or never again in their lifetime. Hospital admission is therefore not usually indicated. Substance abuse and the underlying reasons for it are generally a greater concern in these people and should be addressed as aggressively as possible.

4. They’re crying out for help, and don’t know how else to get it. These people don’t usually want to die but do want to alert those around them that something is seriously wrong. They often don’t believe they will die, frequently choosing methods they don’t think can kill them in order to strike out at someone who’s hurt them—but are sometimes tragically misinformed. The prototypical example of this is a young teenage girl suffering genuine angst because of a relationship, either with a friend, boyfriend, or parent who swallows a bottle of Tylenol—not realizing that in high enough doses Tylenol causes irreversible liver damage.

I’ve watched more than one teenager die a horrible death in an ICU days after such an ingestion when remorse has already cured them of their desire to die and their true goal of alerting those close to them of their distress has been achieved.

5. They have a philosophical desire to die. The decision to commit suicide for some is based on a reasoned decision often motivated by the presence of a painful terminal illness from which little to no hope of reprieve exists. These people aren’t depressed, psychotic, maudlin, or crying out for help. They’re trying to take control of their destiny and alleviate their own suffering, which usually can only be done in death. They often look at their choice to commit suicide as a way to shorten a dying that will happen regardless. In my personal view, if such people are evaluated by a qualified professional who can reliably exclude the other possibilities for why suicide is desired, these people should be allowed to die at their own hands.

6. They’ve made a mistake. This is a recent, tragic phenomenon in which typically young people flirt with oxygen deprivation for the high it brings and simply go too far. The only defense against this, it seems to me, is education.

The wounds suicide leaves in the lives of those left behind by it are often deep and long lasting. The apparent senselessness of suicide often fuels the most significant pain survivors feel. Thinking we all deal better with tragedy when we understand its underpinnings, I’ve offered the preceding paragraphs in hopes that anyone reading this who’s been left behind by a suicide might be able to more easily find a way to move on, to relinquish their guilt and anger, and find closure. Despite the abrupt way you may have been left, those don’t have to be the only two emotions you’re doomed to feel about the one who left you.

Alex Lickerman is an internal medicine physician at the University of Chicago who blogs at Happiness in this World.

Newark officials credit first homicide-free month in 44 years to 'large-scale' drug sweeps

NEWARK -- When the clock struck midnight on April 1, Newark reached a milestone: its first homicide-free calendar month in 44 years. While police and city officials say that’s a solid benchmark, they say there’s more work to do.

"I just think its amazing. Four consecutive weeks without a murder, " Police Director Garry McCarthy said. "The program strategies and policies are working and we’re going to stick with them, but the goal is zero (homicides).

"It’s going to take us a while to get to zero, but right now these are big changes," he said.

McCarthy credited large-scale sweeps at some of the city’s most notorious drug strongholds — in one case nearly 150 arrests during a six-month operation — as well as increased police presence on city streets at night with helping keep the city without a homicide from Feb. 28 through tonight.

Previous coverage:
• Newark records first homicide-free month in more than 40 years

• Irvington man is Newark's first homicide victim in 43 days

•Pa. man shot to death in Newark is first homicide of year
City officials also said community safety caravans as well as the installation of the ShotSpotters gunshot detection system and surveillance cameras in high-crime neighborhoods has helped.

The last time a calendar month passed without a homicide in the state’s largest city was May 1966. McCarthy said his goal is to keep the streak going as long as possible. In 2008, the city went 43 days in March and April without a homicide, the longest span since 1961.

"The reason this is happening is because of the takedown at (Garden) Spires, the reason why it’s happening is because of the takedown at Stephen Crane, Pennington Court," McCarthy said, referring to several housing projects known as havens for drug dealers. "Step by step, there’s a systematic clean-up of all these traditional locations ...We’re attacking and holding on to those locations."

There have been 10 homicides in Newark during the first three months of the year, matching the total for the same period a year ago. That’s the second-lowest first-quarter total since 1941, police said.

Since taking over the Newark Police Department in 2006, McCarthy’s approach to reducing the city’s homicide rate has been simple — fewer shootings will result in fewer deaths. That strategy appears to have held true in March, with only eight reported shootings. In March 2009, there were 11 shootings, resulting in three homicides, according to police records.

McCarthy said the arrest of 149 suspected drug dealers at the Garden Spires apartments during a six-month undercover operation may have helped stifle the homicide rate by preventing narcotics disputes that often turn deadly.

"That group of drug dealers was responsible for an inordinate amount of violence," he said. "This drug gang was involved in violent acts in a lot of other places too, not just Garden Spires."

Overall, Newark’s crime rate has dropped 13 percent compared to the first-quarter of 2009, with shootings, aggravated assaults, robberies and carjackings all lower than a year ago, police said.

"We have made major strides in reducing crime in Newark and providing our residents with a safer, stronger, and prouder community," Mayor Cory Booker said today. "This has been the result of new alliances, 21st-century technology, innovative approaches to protecting our city, groundbreaking efforts to prevent recidivism, the support of our residents, and the courage and valor manifested by Newark’s police officers."

By James Queally/Star-Ledger Staff and Sharon Adarlo/The Star-Ledger

© 2010 NJ.com. All rights reserved.

Dentist pleads guilty to dumping medical waste

PA dentist pleaded guilty to unlawful discharge of water pollutants in New Jersey.

Cape May, NJ (NewYorkInjuryNews.com) – Thomas A. McFarland, 61, of Wynnewood, Pa., agreed to pay $100,000 in fines after pleading guilty on Monday, March 15, 2010, to one count of unlawful discharge of water pollutants. The charge, a plea deal stemming from the 2008 incident in which he dumped a bag of medical waste into the Jersey Shore, was downgraded from two third-degree counts that carried up to five-year penalties. Under the plea agreement, Deputy Attorney General Edward Bonanno said his recommendation will be to give McFarland one year probation when he is sentenced on April 30, 2010, as reported by Philly Online.

According to McFarland, the bag of medical waste was dumped from his motorboat into the Townsend Inlet at the north end of Avalon on August 22, 2008. Within 24 hours, the material appeared along 15 blocks of the Avalon beachfront. The waste consisted of hypodermic needles and other debris and washed up for a period of 10 days. Seven towns closed their beaches and the Borough of Avalon spent approximately $60,000 in cleanup.

Investigators used serial numbers found on needles and a dental drill bit to trace the source of the debris. On September 2, 2008, shortly before police raided the dentist’s office, McFarland confessed to his crime and later pleaded not guilty to the charges. Through the investigation, no stable reason has been supplied for the motive.

The defendant’s first lawyer suggested McFarland had become “distraught to the point of mental illness” by his wife’s diagnosis of lung cancer. In December 2008, he checked himself into the Hampton Behavioral Health Center in Westampton Township, where a psychiatrist “determined to a reasonable degree of medical certainty” that he could not practice dentistry with “reasonable skill and safety to patients,” according to the Pennsylvania State Board of Dentistry. His license was suspended indefinitely and could be revoked.

During questioning on March 15, 2010, McFarland stated that he did not recall whether the needles, cotton swabs and capsules containing dental filling material had been used. He still has yet to offer a motive

Trauma Cleaning: Without Standards, The Pain Can Keep Coming

by Kent Berg
National Institute Decontamination Specialist

As an instructor in crime and trauma-scene recovery and a board member of the American Bio-Recovery Association, I am often approached by attorneys, the public and insurance adjusters to evaluate the service they or their clients received from other crime-scene cleanup companies.

For the most part, these are just routine questions from people who want to make sure that the service they received was within the normal parameters of good practice. But a few times each month I receive calls that just cause my stomach to knot up and my blood to boil.

With the bio-recovery industry in its 14th year, it is mind-boggling to find individuals who still decide that they are going to start-up a new company and declare themselves “experts” in crime and trauma scene cleanup without any research or training.

It is even more outrageous to find that, although they know almost nothing about the science, chemistry, biology or laws of our industry, they are charging fees that are often four or five times the industry average.

The majority of those operating in the industry today are honest, ethical professionals. It’s the few bad apples in the bio-recovery barrel, so to speak, that amplify the problems tainting our industry.

Example 1: The Hit-and-Run Guys
A husband argues with his wife in their kitchen. As she prepares supper, he grabs a shotgun and, standing in the doorway between the kitchen and dining room, blows his head off.

It is still daylight when the police arrive. In order to see better, they open the brain-splattered dining room drapes. Splatter is on the dining room and kitchen walls, but since the body fell onto the vinyl tile floor of the kitchen, the largest amount of blood pooled there.

The family asks the police about scene cleanup, and is directed to a local company. The company tells the family that payment will have to be made in cash prior to starting the job, and that the family will not be allowed inside of the house while the cleaning process takes place.

The family agrees and stays with relatives until they get the call that the job is complete and they can return. The company is long gone, and upon cursory inspection, the rooms look contaminant-free.

It is now night and, in an effort to keep neighbors from seeing into the dining room, the wife pulls the drapes closed. To the horror of the family, the drapes had apparently never been checked and still have blood and brain matter clinging to the material.

The kitchen floor appears to be clean but, when the wife walks across the floor, bright red blood spurts up between the tiles, making little puddles and polka-dotting her shoes.

If this isn’t enough to re-traumatize the family, the wife goes to remove the now-cold pot of chili from the stove and promptly throws up when she sees a 3-inch piece of her husband’s skull nestled neatly atop the pot.

The family contacted the attorney general for their state, who then called me to review the family’s statements prior to a decision on prosecution.

Example 2: The Little-Extra-on-the-Side Guys
A man who lived alone died in his bed of natural causes, but wasn’t found for several weeks. When the authorities were finally called, the decomposition could be smelled from the street.

When a crime-scene-cleanup company was called in, the man’s relatives were told that the odor had permeated everything in the house with disease. Their recommendation was that everything in the house should be removed and destroyed.

The family, already nauseated from the smell, relied on the “professional opinion” of the technicians and agreed to let them remove everything from the good silver and china to the appliances.

In short, every piece of furniture, appliance, electronic component and fixture was removed because they were declared “not salvageable.”

The relatives were then presented with a bill for approximately $40,000! If this wasn’t obscene enough, a few weeks later the family found many of the home’s contents that were supposedly “not salvageable” being sold at a local flea market.

Example 3: The Cutting-Down-on-Overhead Guys
It is standard practice for crime and trauma-scene cleanup companies to dispose of human-blood-contaminated items that can’t be salvaged. They do this by red-bagging and boxing these items and sending them to a medical waste processing facility. This includes dismantling recliners, mattresses, and other large items to fit in these containers.

In this case, a company responded to a gunshot suicide in an apartment. The victim had sat in his favorite recliner and put a pistol in his mouth. The subsequent wound bled profusely until there was no more blood for the heart to pump. This resulted in the complete saturation of the recliner.

In an apparent effort to save on labor and disposal fees, the crew decided that they would dispose of the recliner by wrapping it in plastic, putting it in the back of their truck and then dumping it in the woods of a neighboring county.

All seemed to go well until a few days later, when hunters found the chair and called police. Thinking that they had stumbled upon evidence of a homicide, the police launched a full-scale investigation that lasted for weeks and logged many detective hours before they were actually able to review the crime scene photos of every police department in the surrounding counties.

When the mystery was finally attributed to this particular crime-scene-cleanup company, not only were they slapped with fines for littering, they were saddled with reimbursing the cost of the investigation. Every law enforcement agency that heard about this dropped the company like a hot potato, and the subsequent media attention tarnished the reputation of crime-scene-cleanup companies everywhere.

I would like to emphasize the fact that these complaints are not clients disappointed with a poorly painted wall or an out-of-true vanity top. These are abuses by unscrupulous companies that are subjecting their clients to financial greed, improper disinfection, and re-traumatizing that no one should have to endure.

Could training and certification eliminate these types of abuse? Perhaps a good portion of them, but in the end, it is the honesty and character of the companies themselves that should be monitored. I believe the way to do that is to pursue standards, as well as meeting with our state legislators to create specific regulations for our industry.

Haiti Relief Mission - Update 01-18-2010

A team of twenty from H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 will be responding to take part in the relief effort in earthquake-ravaged Haiti on Wednesday, January 20, 2010. They will land in Santo Domingo and use that as a jumping off point to Haiti. Our members will join in the herculean task of helping that devastated country. They have medical supplies and expertise that are so badly needed in this decimated area.

We have received a tremendous response from our members to our request for participation in a relief mission. The first deployment will see a team of twenty volunteers from H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 evaluate the situation and, if need be, more relief missions will be planned.

Our thanks go out to all and we ask for your continued support and prayers. H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 will be able to help those in need because we have received tremendous support and funding from the benevolence of Jefferies & Company (Jefferies is an independent, full-service securities and investment banking firm serving companies and their investors globally. Check out this article from their website at: Jefferies - Haiti Relief News Story). We thank them as well.
Hopefully, there will be updates from wherever the team is and we ask that you will go to our website at: www.HEART911.org

The owner of Bio-Recovery Corporation, Ron Gospodarski will be amongest this group of twenty police, firefighter and paramedics. We wish them Godspeed in there endeavors.

Teen Suicide Risk Factors: Parents Are Too Often Clueless

By Nancy Shute

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers, and it's a tragedy that can be prevented. Given that almost 15 percent of high school students say they've seriously considered suicide in the past year, parents and friends need to know how to recognize when a teenager is in trouble and how to help.

Parents can be clueless when it comes to recognizing suicide risk factors, or at least more clueless than teens. In a new survey of teenagers and parents in Chicago and in the Kansas City, Kan., area, which appears online in Pediatrics, both parents and teenagers said that teen suicide was a problem, but not in their community. Alas, teen suicide is a universal problem; no area is immune.

The teenagers correctly said that drug and alcohol use was a big risk factor for suicide, with some even noting that drinking and drug use could be a form of self-medication or self-harm. By contrast, many of the parents shrugged off substance abuse as acceptable adolescent behavior. As one parent told the researchers: "Some parents smoke pot with their kids or allow their kids to drink."

Both teenagers and parents said that guns should be kept away from a suicidal teen. But since parents said they didn't think they could determine when a teenager was suicidal, parents should routinely lock up firearms, the researchers suggest. That makes sense. Firearms are used in 43.1 percent of teen suicides, according to 2006 data, while suffocation or hanging accounts for 44.9 percent.

The good news: Both parents and teenagers in this small survey (66 teenagers and 30 parents) said they'd like more help learning how to know when someone is at risk of committing suicide and what to do. Schools and pediatricians should be able to help, but we can all become better educated through reliable resources on the Web. These authoritative sites list typical signs of suicide risk, and they also provide questions a parent or a friend can ask a teenager to find out if he is considering killing himself. Here are good places to start:

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry lists signs and symptoms of suicidal thinking, such as saying things like "I won't be a problem for you much longer."

The American Academy of Pediatrics urges parents to ask the child directly about suicide. "Getting the word out in the open may help your teenager think someone has heard his cries for help."

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides free advice to someone considering suicide, as well as to friends and relatives, at 800-273-TALK.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness's teenage suicide page makes the point that talking with someone about suicide will not "give them the idea." "Bringing up the question of suicide and discussing it without showing shock or disapproval is one of the most helpful things you can do," the NAMI site says. "This openness shows that you are taking the individual seriously and responding to the severity of his or her distress."

Teen depression and suicide risk linked to late bedtimes and chronic sleep deprivation

A report from the Jan. 1, 2010 issue of the journal Sleep found a surprising link between the typically late bedtimes of teenagers and teen depression and suicide.

Parent-set bedtimes affect teen's mental state

Adolescents with parent-set bedtimes after midnight had a 24% increased incidence of depression and a 20% increase in suicidal thoughts compared to teens with a bedtime before 10 pm.

Most of the teens in the study reported adhering to the bedtimes their parents set for them, showing that it's up to parents to give appropriate guidelines for avoiding sleep deprivation.

Length of Sleep Matters for Adolescents

The length of sleep matters, too, according to the researchers. Teenagers who reported getting less than five hours of sleep a night had a 71% higher risk of depression and a 48% higher risk of suicidal thoughts than adolescents who got 8 hours or more of sleep.

The AASM (The American Academy of Sleep Medicine) recommends nine or more hours of sleep a night for adolescents.

The study was conducted by James E. Gangwisch, PhD, assistant professor at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, N.Y and colleagues and looked at over 15,000 teenagers' sleep habits and mental states. The teens in the study ranged from 12-17 years old.

Shooting near Jersey City playground

Dozens of police officers and emergency workers are at Montgomery and Florence streets in Jersey City where a shooting has left a pile of blood-soaked snow just about 10 feet from a playground, Jersey Journal reporter Michaelangelo Conte reports from the scene.

It is unknown right now if more than one person was shot and how severe the injuries were.

Two ambulances left the scene about 10 minutes ago and police have taped off the area as they take photographs and investigate.

An officer just called for a biohazard cleanup of the snow so no children play in it.

The playground serves kids in the various buildings of the Montgomery Gardens public housing complex.

It takes four months, but Hamilton pays $15,000 to fix, clean dead man's house

By SULAIMAN ABDUR-RAHMAN
Staff writer

HAMILTON — Deborah Thomeier said she has a “renewed faith in the government of Hamilton Township” after it acted “efficiently and quickly” in cleaning up and structurally rehabbing her dead next-door neighbor’s property on Joan Terrace.

“My husband (Joe) and I are very pleased with the speed and the efficiency of the township. ... The property looks 100 percent different,” Thomeier said, referring to the household of the late Edward Bratton, 86, who died of natural causes and was found as a rotting corpse inside his house June 13.

At that time, the interior of the home was littered with garbage and the house’s exterior was covered with vines and tree branches.

Township officials described the interior as a “biohazard” and deemed the rear area of the house to be structurally unsound.

The Thomeiers and other neighbors on the 100 block of Joan Terrace went on the offensive at a July public meeting, accusing the township of being inept at addressing their concerns about the dilapidated and filthy conditions of Bratton’s home.

The township said it couldn’t take action right away because Bratton, a retired state worker, had no known next of kin who could grant them permission to rehab the property. Consequently, the township had to enter a prolonged legal process to rectify the situation.

The township by early September obtained the authority to go to work, spending $8,800 of taxpayer money for a private company to clean the interior and using federal block grant money to pay for the $7,000 structural fixes and demolition of the house’s dilapidated rear.

Rob Warney of the township’s Department of Community Planning and Compliance told The Trentonian the entire clean-up and structural rehabbing was completed last month.

“We have no complaints at this point. We’re just happy it’s over with,” Deborah Thomeier told the newspaper on Thursday. “They did a nice job. They really did. ... I didn’t expect it to be done by the end of September.”

Why You Need Crime Scene Cleanup Services

Crime scene cleanup, trauma scene cleanup or biorecovery after the death of someone either violently or naturally is by and large the responsibility of the victim’s family. Even till few years ago, there were a handful of cleaning companies that specialized in trauma cleaning service. But today this niche service has emerged and there are many companies who provide this service.

Trauma cleaning service requires special experience, skills, equipment and expertise to deal with different types of bio-hazardous waste and dispose them efficiently with the minimum possible emotional stress to the victim’s family.

The most traumatic form of death is violent death and leaves the victim’s family feeling both victimized and traumatized. Coming to terms with the death of a loved one is in itself an uphill task for the bereaved family, and to top it off they have to deal with other practical matters like making funeral arrangements, dealing with insurance issues, contacting surviving family and friends and locating wills. Furthermore, in case of violent crimes the police and the media are also involved. This can really overwhelm any family. Here is where trauma cleaning service comes to your rescue. They lighten one of the heaviest burdens that are of dealing with the horrid aftermath. They will take care of the crime/death scene cleanup, ensuring that the scene is restored to its pre-incident state as far as possible and in the most quick and efficient manner thus allowing you to deal with other important matters. Most service providers work discreetly and protect the confidentiality of the decedent and family.

Most of the times, the crime scenes are so ghastly that they can induce additional emotional trauma on victim’s friends and family. By hiring professionals for this cleanup, you can reduce this emotional stress. Immediately after death Mother Nature begins its process of breaking down the body. Unattended death scenes and dead bodies can be dangerous as it gives rise to blood borne pathogens, viruses and bacteria. You may try to clean the area by yourself but the exposure may result in flu-like diseases or direct attack on the respiratory system. So it is advisable to leave this job to professionals who specialize in bio fluid and blood remediation.

The total cost involved in a trauma scene cleanup will depend on a number of factors. One of the largest factors is labor, how many technicians will be needed to complete the job, how long will the job take and the quantity of medical waste disposal (red bags) that needs to be treated and disposed of. It can range anywhere in the range of $600 to $5000 per job. Some people might call this business as capitalizing on death but it is still essential and indispensable in case of a death.

In many states throughout the country, if the death is related to a crime, the State Victims Assistance program may make monies available to cover the cost of "crime & death scene cleanup." In other cases, homeowner policies may cover this cost as well.

What to look for in a cleanup contractor:
As with any type of contractor it is buyer beware! Always make sure the contactor is local to you (same state). There are many cleanup contractors who advertise on the internet that are many states away, thus dollars away. These companies either send their people long distances or hire a local company and mark up the invoice. Why pay these high cost when it is unnecessary. There are licensed, qualified companies in every major metropolitan area in the United States. Never pay for a company that is based out of state. To locate a local company visit our website at www.biorecovery.com and click on nationwide directory in the left column. Check to see if the company you have chosen is a member of a non-profit association that deals with this industry-currently there is only one association, that being the American Bio-Recovery Association (ABRA). You can verrifiy a company be logging onto www.americanbiorecovery.com and clicking on service providers, to see if they are indeed a member of this non-profit group.

Additionally, always check for the proper insurance and ask for a certificate of insurance and be listed as an additional insured. Many companies do not carry the correct insurance, they have janitorial insurance which will not cover you should an incident arise during the cleanup. Biohazard cleanup contractors should carry general liability insurance for blood cleanup as well as having contractor’s pollution liability insurance and workers compensation insurance for the state they are working in.

Are your cleanup contractors licensed to transport medical waste? If they are charging you for "red bag" transport and disposal, they must be licensed by the state in which they operate, ask for a copy of their license. If they do not have one, or say they have another company who will transport this "red bag" waste, stop and get another company that is licensed, ultimately, you are responsible for this hazardous waste should be mishandled.

NEVER EVER sign a work authorization or contract for service without reading and understanding what these documents are. Once you sign them you are responsible for what they say. There are many horrific stories about companies from Illinois, and other states that charge tens of thousands of dollars for a job that may have cost $3500.00 from a reputable company, but because you signed their agreement without understanding the ramifications of such, like how charges are calculated, you are now stuck with an invoice for $25,000 dollars. These companies will sue you or lien your real property to recoup there payment. Your insurance company will not cover costs that are not customary to the work performed. This is not meant to scare you or change your mind about using a biorecovery type company, it is meant to educate you. You are in the midst of one of the worst times of your life; don't let unscrupulous companies take advantage of you-hire a local company that has a verifiable track record.

Tenants of apartment where Jersey City cops were shot allowed back home after 36 hours

The residents of 24 Reed St. -- the site of yesterday's bloodbath where five cops were shot in Jersey City -- were allowed to return to their homes more than 36 hours after being evacuated.

About 20 residents from the 40-unit building spent time yesterday at an emergency shelter at nearby School 17 and 13 residents spent the night there, said Art Samaras, director of recovery for the American Red Cross of Northern New Jersey, which ran the shelter.

Residents were jubilant as they walked back inside after a showerless day and a half, during which tenants had no access to anything but the pajamas on their backs when they were evacuated from the building at 5:20 a.m. yesterday, said resident Ellwood Bramhan, 57, who lives on the first floor.

Bramhan who has asthma and emphysema, said he wasn't allowed able to get his oxygen tank, and went without it for several hours until the Red Cross supplied him -- sporadically -- with one.

"I don't understand it because I live on the first floor and the incident was on the third floor. I even gave them (the police) a key to my apartment and asked someone to get my tank but they said no. All they had to do was go in there," he said.

Bramhan said he and his neighbors haven't been able to access prescription medicine either.

Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said he probably would have allowed a police officer to retrieve the oxygen tank and readily available medications for residents, but he would not have let the tenants go in themselves.

"I've looked at the crime scene photos, this is one of the most bloody scenes that I have seen in all my years in law enforcement," he said.

Jersey City Deputy Chief Peter Nalbach said police offered to take tenants that needed medication to the hospital emergency room.

As for keeping the tenants out of the building for so long, both Nalbach and DeFazio said it was necessary to investigate exactly what happened during the shootout.

"It's a crime scene," Nalbach said. "Nobody goes in the building but the technicians. There was multiple rounds to collect. There was blood evidence to collect. There was clothing to collect. We were looking for other weapons.

DeFazio said even though it appears that the officers' use of force was justifiable, the death of the two suspects is still considered a homicide.

"That's why this is being taken very, very seriously and a very thorough and deliberate investigation is taking place," he said.

The investigation concluded this morning and then cleanup crews were called in. A handful of people in white-plastic coveralls and face masks were seen cleaning blood outside the building at about 1 p.m.

DeFazio said it was a public health danger to let tenants back into the building before the blood was cleaned up because they could catch hepatitis or other diseases.

Bramhan said residents were cheering and shouting as they came back in.

"It feels good to be back home, it's just that we can't lock our doors," Bramhan said, explaining that police had damaged many doors in the building during yesterday's shootout.

Greg Kierce, director of emergency management and homeland security for Jersey City, said he hoped to fix all the damage by noon tomorrow and and would post a police officer outside the building 24-hours-a-day until the locks were repaired.

Last night Jersey City's Division of Animal Control rescued a dog from the building and looked for two cats, which could not be found, said Kierce.

Related Stories:

5 cops shot in Jersey City: Comprehensive coverage

Authorities confirm identities of two suspects killed in Jersey City shootout

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Crime Scene Leftovers Pose Problem For Sanitation

Call it the Case of the Bloody Mattress.

City sanitation workers in southwestern Kentucky were recently left with the problem of how to dispose of a bloody mattress put out with the trash.

The mattress came from a home where police say a 37-year-old man appears to have died from self-inflicted stab wounds. The problem came when trash collectors realized they couldn't pick up a potential biohazard, but didn't want to leave it by the side of the road in a residential neighborhood in Hopkinsville.

"This was an area of concern for us because blood is considered a biohazard and not only can our trash trucks not pick it up, but it could be dangerous for people in the community," said George Hampton, a route supervisor for Hopkinsville Solid Waste Authority.

The Kentucky New Era reports that the mattress disappeared by midweek, but sanitation officials didn't take it and were still trying to make sure it was properly disposed of. The location of the mattress remained a mystery at week's end.

Hopkinsville sanitation workers received an anonymous call reporting a mattress, possibly covered in blood, that had been set on a curb outside of a home. That was the concern of the anonymous caller, Hampton said, who said children in the neighborhood could start to play on the mattress and come into contact with the dried blood that might have diseases.

Because there was blood on the mattress, sanitation workers couldn't haul it off with the rest of the trash.

"It raises a question for us about where we take it from here," Hampton said. "Someone has to clean up messes like these and we can't do it."

Solid Waste Superintendent Bill Bailey said sanitation workers aren't allowed to pick up possible biohazards, including blood, from the side of the road. Instead, Bailey said, the department needs to call other landfills to see who will pick up and take the items.

"Sometimes we can process and wrap it in plastic and dispose of it that way. But other times we have to contact a company that deals with disposing of medical waste."

Charlotte Write, a spokeswoman for Stericycle, a national company that specializes in medical waste disposal, said medical waste is generally burned to kill pathogens that can live in dried blood.

"It is important to dispose of all medical waste, especially waste that comes from the body, so as not to spread diseases," Write said.

Hopkinsville Police Chief Guy Howie said the families must clean up the scene of a murder or suicide or pay to have it done.

"It doesn't sound very friendly, I know, but that's just how it has to be handled," Howie said. "Someone has to clean it up and someone has to dispose of all of this, it's just a matter of figuring out who. It's amazing that just one mattress on a curb can raise so many questions."

Someone solved sanitation's problem by taking the mattress from in front of the home. Bailey said sanitation workers didn't remove it, but finding out what became of the mattress is important. It had to be properly sterilized and disposed of.

"We can't just stick it in our landfill and be done with it," Bailey said. "Whether it's on that curb or not, it's still hazardous material."

Crime Scene Cleanup: What It Involves

A crime scene cleanup service is not without its complications. Crime scene cleaning encompasses restoring the crime scene to its original state. When a crime is usually discovered, crime scene cleaners are not called until after officers of the law, like the crime scene investigators, have done their jobs first and have given the go ahead for the cleaners to come in. If you intend to hire a crime scene cleanup company, you must make sure that they are well equipped and fit right to get the job done. A crime scene presents challenging conditions.

The Use Of Protective Gears:
Crime scenes can very well involve the use of hazardous or deadly substances. For safety reasons then, it has become imperative that crime scene cleaners use protective clothing, in addition to protective tools and gadgets. You must see to it that they have all the necessary protective gears and gadgets. The protective clothing can consist of disposable gloves and suits. A disposable gear is preferred nowadays since it offers the best protection against contamination. You use it one time and get rid of it. That way, the dangers of contamination is virtually brought down to zero percent. Protective clothing extends to respirators and the use of heavy-duty industrial or chemical-spill protective boots.

Among the gadgets that a crime scene cleaning company must have are special brushes, special sprayers, and wet vacuum. These special tools ensure added protection against getting into contact with the hazard could very well be present in the crime scene. There is large, special equipment such as a mounted steam injection tool that is designed to sanitize dried up biohazard materials such as scattered flesh and brain. You would also need to check if they have the specialized tank for chemical treatments and industrial strength waste containers to collect biohazard waste.

Of course, any crime scene clean up must have the usual cleaning supplies common to all cleaning service companies. There are the buckets, mops, brushes and spray bottles. For cleaning products, you should check if they use industrial cleaning products. A crime scene cleaning company must have these on their lists:

1 - Disinfectants including hydrogen peroxide and bleaches - The kinds that the hospitals used are commonly acceptable.

2 - Enzyme solvers for cleaning blood stains. It also kills viruses and bacteria.

3 - Odor removers such as foggers, ozone machines, and deodorizers

4 - Handy tools for breaking and extending such as saws, sledgehammers, and ladders

Established crime scene operators also equip themselves with cameras and take pictures of the crime scene before commencing work which. The pictures taken may prove useful for legal matters and insurance purposes. You never know which.

Needless to say, a specially fitted form of transportation and proper waste disposal is also needed. These requirements are specific. As you can imagine, crime scene cleaning is in a different category on its own. A home cleaning or janitorial service company may not be able to cope up with the demands of a crime scene. A crime scene cleanup service requires many special gears and tools that a home cleaning or a janitorial service company does not usually have or does not require. Crime scene cleaning if not done correctly can expose the public to untold hazards.

What Else To Look For In A Crime Scene Cleanup Company
You may also want to hire a company that has established itself. An experienced company with a strong reputation is always a plus but it could be expensive too. You will do well to balance your needs with what is your budget. There are several companies that offer specific prices such as for death scene clean up categories and suicide clean up categories. Most companies own a website and have round the clock customer service as receptionists.

When looking for a suitable crime scene cleaning service, among the first things you need to do is to scout for price quotes. Crime scene cleanup services usually provide quote after they have examined the crime scene and then they give you a definite quote. Factors that are usually considered include the number of personnel that will be needed to get the job done. It also includes the amount of time that might be needed. The nature and amount of the waste materials that need to be disposed will also be factored in. You can be sure that the more sophisticated equipments needed the more expensive it will get.

Crime Scene Cleanup And Your Insurance
For homeowners, the best approach is always to make sure that crime scene cleanup services clauses and provisions are written down on the contracts or policies. The inclusion of crime cleanup services clauses is very common and has become standard clause in most homeowner’s policy. Make sure that you are covered for this unforeseen event. Make sure that your policy directs the crime scene cleaning company to transact directly with the homeowner insurance company. A crime scene cleaning service is usually a standard clause in many homeowners’ insurance clause. These companies often do the paperwork in behalf of clients.

If for some reason you do not have such coverage by any policies relating to crime scene cleanup on your home, there are ways to keep your expenses controlled.

Finding the right company can be very taxing, especially that you have to deal with the emotional stress stemming from the crime itself, especially with a crime scene involving death.

There are many crime scene cleanup companies in operation nowadays. There are reliable professionals that you can hire and prices are relatively competitive. As of recently, crime-scene cleanup services can cost up to $600 for an hour of their service. A homicide case alone involving a single room and a huge amount of blood can cost about $1,000 to $3,000.

In recent years, crime scene cleaning has come to be known as, "Crime and Trauma Scene Decontamination or CTS. Basically, CTS is a special form of crime scene cleaning focusing on decontamination of the crime scene from hazardous substances such as those resulting from violent crimes or those involving chemical contaminations such as methamphetamine labs or anthrax production. This type of service is particularly common when violent crimes are committed in a home. It is rare that the residents move out of the home after it has become a scene of a crime. Most often, the residents just opt to have it cleaned up. That is why, it is very important to hire the best crime scene cleaning company out there. The place needs to be totally free from contamination of any kind. You have to make sure that the company is able to remove all traces of the violent crime that took place. This includes cleaning biohazards that are sometimes invisible to the untrained eye.

Legally speaking, federal laws state that all bodily fluids are deemed biohazards and you should make sure that the cleanup service company you hire understands this and includes it in the cleanup. These things appear as blood or tissue splattered on a crime scene. You must be able to hire a company that is equipped with special knowledge to safely handle biohazard materials. The company must have the knowledge what to search for in any give biohazard crime scene. For instance, the company should be able to tell clues such that if there is a bloodstain the size of a thumbnail on a carpet, you can bet that there is about a huge bloodstain underneath. Federal and State laws have their own laws in terms of transport and disposal of biohazard waste. Make sure that the company you hire has all the permits necessary.

It will also be a huge plus if you could hire people who not only has the special trainings but also who have the nature to be sympathetic. If you are close to the victim and have the cleaning done at the behest of the victim’s relatives, it would matter that the cleaners tread the site with some level of respect. It is a common site that family members and loved ones are often there at scene. In general, when looking for a suitable crime scene cleaners, you would take into considerations the kind of situation that the crimes scene presents and the demands that it require. Crime scene cleaning companies handle a wide variety of crime scenes and prices may vary from one to the other crime scene and one to the other company.

Each type of scene requires its own particular demands not only to make the crime scene look clean and neat on the surface but to make it germ free, and clean inside and to make it free from all deadly and infectious substances. The cleanup cost for biohazards may vary depending on degree of the bio hazard(s) on the scene. There may even be a category that changes the cleanup pricing which usually involves decomposing bodies and carcasses. Likewise, a cleanup of chemical hazards vary, depending on the amount of chemical hazards as well as the grades i.e. how hazardous the substance is in terms of human contact. Prices are also determined by the number of hours and personnel that it would to get the crime scene cleaned. In addition, the "gross factor" from crime scene involving death and gore needs to be taken under consideration regarding the chemicals that will be used as opposed to those crimes' that do not have gore involved.

Traumatic Grief

By Nancy Crump

Since the late 1980’s, we have seen an increase in interest and research on the effects of trauma on the grief process. We have learned that the grief process from the sudden, unexpected, and often violent deaths of suicide, homicide, auto accidents, natural disasters, and other types of deaths, is very different from the grief process of those who have died from natural causes, old age, or long-termed illness. Many, if not all, of the deaths faced by Bio Technicians fall into the category of traumatic. Those family members who hire you have usually been touched by the trauma of the death. Understanding the traumatic grief process and its differences from other types of grief may be of some help to you as you deal with these family members.

There are several key elements that make the responses by family members to a traumatic death difficult. First is the suddenness of the death. Family members usually did not have time to prepare themselves for the death and to make the psychological adjustments to cope with the news of the death. Also, the suddenness of the death does not give the family an opportunity to say goodbye to the victim before their death. Second, the violence of the death may leave the family with horrific memories and nightmares that often interfere with the grief process. Third, many of these types of deaths require police intervention and the family is often not given the support, information, and compassion they need at the time. Another element can be the presence of the media at the time of the death, as well as weeks and months later if legal issues follow the death. Most traumatic deaths involve young people who’s parents, grandparents, and siblings may still live. Certainly, the death of a child or young person is very difficult to cope with.

Reactions to a traumatic death can be very different, more intense, and longer lasting than other types of death. The emotions following a traumatic death are often conflicting and intense. There is a tendency to relive the death event over and over in an attempt to make it real. Intrusive thoughts and nightmares are very common. Intense physical responses such as inability to eat or sleep, stomach aches and headaches, muscle tension, high blood pressure and a decrease in the autoimmune system are also common. Many times, the survivors must deal with intense feelings of guilt or remorse, feeling that they were somehow responsible or could have prevented the death “if only”. Family members have the need to tell the story of the death over and over again in an attempt to gain a sense of the reality of the death. They often have an overwhelming need to learn all they can about the circumstances of the death - how the person died, whether they were in pain, did they know they were dying, what were their last words, who saw what happened, and in cases of homicide, who committed the murder. All of these reactions are ways the survivors use to grasp the reality of the death and to begin the grief process.

As Bio Technicians, you are often called by family members or meet them upon arrival to the scene. Understanding some of the dynamics of trauma on the grief process may help as you help the family. Understanding the “normalcy” of the reactions you may see can help you feel more competent and assured to speak with family members without wondering whether or not you are saying the “right” thing. Some suggestions are listed below, but the most important thing is to convey sincerity and compassion to the family. They are very vulnerable and sensitive to words, expressions, and body language. Just make sure that what you say and do is congruent with how you feel or you will come across as insincere and uncaring.

Soon after a traumatic death, most survivors simply need to tell the story to anyone who will listen. It is important for their recovery to be able to do this. If you have time to listen, do so. They are not necessarily looking for any input from you; they just need someone to listen.

Remember that there are two basic rules for grieving people – you don’t hurt yourself or someone else. If, during the conversation, you hear comments that indicate the person is thinking of either, you might suggest they go talk to someone else before making a decision to do something like this. Create a list of counselors, therapists, or mental health centers to hand out at times like these. Take comments about thoughts of suicide seriously and offer to call a friend or family member to be with the person and get them help. Suicide rates often increase after a sudden, traumatic death of a loved one. These are very difficult situations for you as a caregiver, but you need to set limits as to what you can and cannot do. Listening and having resources available are all you need. The survivor needs to take some responsibility for them, and others who are better trained to handle these situations need to be contacted.

Although many reactions may look and feel “crazy”, most are normal reactions to the situation. Again, as long as they don’t hurt themselves or someone else, they are probably reacting normally to an abnormal situation. Helping normalize these reactions is very helpful to the survivor. Encouraging the survivor to talk and to express what they are experiencing is also helpful. Making a simple statement such as, “I think I’d feel the same way if this happened to me”, helps the survivor feel less out of control.

There are many support groups available to survivors that would make a good resource for them. Creating a list of those in your community or in nearby communities is a great gift for survivors. They may not want to attend a support group, but usually someone from the group is always willing to talk to them by telephone or offer assistance.

In the work you do, you may find yourself in situations of dealing with survivors who have needs you do not feel comfortable or competent in dealing with. That’s okay as it is not your responsibility to be all things to all people. However, there are these simple steps you can take to help your families in a meaningful way. You can listen. You can refer. You can offer resources. Having some general knowledge of the traumatic grief process may make you feel more competent in dealing with your families and knowing that you are being supportive and helpful in a meaningful way.

Below are some national organizations that offer support groups in almost every locality. They are specific to either the type of death or the relationship to the person who died and are more appropriate to traumatic deaths. They all have web sites or central telephone numbers that can be contacted for local information.

The Compassionate Friends – for parents’ whose child has died of any cause.
MADD – Mothers Against Drunk Drivers offer support for parents who a drunk driver killed child
Widowed Persons Service – sponsored by AARP for spousal death
SOS – Survivors of Suicide support groups
POMC – Parents of Murdered Children and other victims of homicide.

These and many other groups may be listed at your county’s Victim Assistance Office usually located in the office of the District Attorney. Also, check with your local hospices or hospitals. They offer support groups that are open to the public. Some local churches may also host support groups. As you create your list, don’t try to keep up with the dates and times of group meetings as they change frequently. All you need is the name of the group, a telephone number, and possibly a contact person. Leave it to the survivors to take the responsibility to make the calls on their own behalf.

Medical waste found in East Brunswick roadway

by New Jersey Local News Service
Thursday April 30, 2009, 1:00 PM
Health officials responded to East Brunswick this morning after bed pads, gauze, latex gloves and medical packaging were found scattered in Cranbury Road near Cornwall Drive, authorities said.

Police and officials from the Middlesex County Hazardous Materials Unit and the Middlesex County Board of Health were unable to determine where the debris came from or why it was in the road.

East Brunswick Police ask anyone with information about the incident to call (732) 390-6900.

Custodian’s stress-disorder suit restored

Meghann M. Cuniff / Staff writer

A custodian who sued her school district after being forced to clean up the bloody scene of a student’s suicide had her lawsuit reinstated Tuesday by the Washington Court of Appeals.

Debbie Rothwell, who still works at Lakeside High School in Nine Mile Falls, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a lawsuit filed in May 2007 by her lawyer, William Powell, of Spokane. The 16-year-old student shot himself in the head inside the school’s main entrance in 2004. The lawsuit was dismissed in January 2008 by Spokane County Superior Court Judge Greg Sypolt, who ruled the incident was covered by the Industrial Insurance Act.

But the Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 ruling, disagreed and reinstated the suit.

“There are people who do clean up the mess after one of these horrible murders or suicides happen,” Powell said Tuesday, referring to private professionals. “But the superintendent in this case chose not to do that. He should have known better.”

Along with former Superintendent Michael Green, now superintendent of the Woodland School District in Western Washington, the lawsuit names the Nine Miles Falls School District, Stevens County Sheriff Craig Thayer, two sheriff’s detectives and an unidentified man as defendants.

None was available for comment. Like most civil suits in Washington, the complaint seeks unspecified damages.

Rothwell’s complaints center around her task of cleaning up the suicide scene, then being asked to move a backpack she later learned belonged to the victim and contained a suspicious device that authorities detonated using a robot.

She stayed at work until after 4 a.m., cleaning the mess of blood, brain and bone alone, becoming “emotionally distraught and physically ill” before returning to the school less than four hours later at Green’s orders to serve cookies and coffee to grieving students and keep the media from the school, according to the suit.

At issue in the court decisions was whether Rothwell’s claim of post-traumatic stress disorder fell under the industrial injury act, which prohibits lawsuits based on industry injury or occupational disease.

Judges John A. Schultheis and Dennis J. Sweeney ruled it didn’t because it wasn’t the result of one work order. Her trauma grew over several days, according to their written opinion. Judge Teresa C. Kulik dissented.