Suicide Cleanup Research

Research shows alcoholism and impulsivity, two high-risk indicators for suicide among white males, share biological and sociological sources.

Suicide cleanup begins after the coroner or medical examiner leave the suicide scene. The coroner or county administrator pastes a seal on the door. Only a responsible party, not the suicide cleaner, has the authority to break this seal. When the responsible party communicates to the suicide cleaner their understanding, and when the suicide cleaner responds with his or her understanding, the suicide cleanup begins.

Suicide cleanup may take minutes or days. Cleanup time depends on the type of suicide device, the room, the floor, the walls, the ceiling, the weather, how long the suicide victim remained down, and unforeseen conditions. The location of the suicide may create additional cleaning issues. The suicide victim's size and weight come into play because of fluid dispersal and flow. Even the suicide victim's diet becomes a factor under certain weather and decomposition issues. For more information click HERE.

Our suicide cleanup service first removes biohazard material, contains and decontaminates these materials (or seals them), and then cleans. Suicide cleanup includes scrubbing with abrasive materials, rinsing, and then cleaning again. Areas soiled by biohazard materials are sealed. At times we seal entire rooms. Our suicide cleanup process reduces or removes the death odors.

Ozone gas and chemical fogs help to decontaminate before and after suicide cleanup. Both tools help to cover wide areas contaminated by flies and other insects. Decontamination requires removing the source material first, although decontamination may start the cleaning process and continue throughout. Decontamination is not the same as sterilization. Sterilization occurs in very few places.

Clean rooms created for scientific research sometimes claim to have a "sterile environment," but even here the possibility for contamination remains high. Many hours of hard labor, thousands of dollars for filters, and millions of dollars for filtration equipment help to sterilize environments. Some authors point to boiling water and steam generated by boiling water as "sterile," which seems logical enough.

Using boiling water and steam to "sterilize" surgical equipment remains a common method of blood cleanup and recycling tools for surgery and scientific research. Otherwise, the use of boiling water has its limits. Boiling water exists under the earth's oceans as it mixes with cool sea water. Shifting continental plates create pressure under the surface and volcanic action releases the boiling water, which becomes habitat for life forms in some cases. This proves that boiling water will not always destroy organisms. However, under certain circumstances I use 300 degree water from a power washer for suicide cleanup.

To the rescue, chemicals like bleach destroy bloodborne pathogen (germs) like HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C, but claiming that areas treated with bleach become sterilized cannot be done during suicide cleanup. given the equipment and tools available. Reducing micro-organisms and eliminating their conditions for survival, their habitat, is the best we or anyone else can do during suicide cleanup.

Reducing bacteria count to a level as low as or lower than the pre-suicide act calls for professional cleaning. However, when a family or others must clean, we have pages giving some suggestions at crimescenecleanup.com/Suicide_Cleanup.html

My experience includes military trauma cleanup and seven years of homicide, suicide, and unattended death decomposition cleanup.

In the military I cleaned equipment soiled by blood and other materials. Many times my own equipment needed cleaning after helping others. I have no fear of blood or death scenes, but I do understand today's bloodborne hazards.

In the active army I served for 3 years, and then 20 years in the National Guard and Army Reserve. During these years decontamination training remained a central part of training for all soldiers because of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons.

My formal training derives mostly from the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration, IICRC, classes. I took classes from Carl Williams (RIP) a number of times. Carl remains one of the most prolific writers in the Janitorial and Sanitation industry.

Other instructors also offered class work and hands-on work in carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning, floor inspection, water damage and restoration, mold inspection and restoration (NAMP), crime scene cleanup, and house inspection (AHIT).

I hold an Associate of Arts, general education, Bachelor's in Sociology, and Master of Science in Educational Counseling. I have held many teaching credentials, including adult education, English Language Arts (High School), English as a Second Language, and more.

As a retired teacher without employees, my prices remain below my competitions' prices in most cases. I clean throughout California. If a suicide occurs in a Southern California home, you most likely will not learn about my services until too late because of cronyism. See Crime Scene Cleanup Cronyism for more information on cronyism in coroner, medical examiner, and county administrator offices. Visit CPAC to learn more about the organized crime scene cleaners to stop cronyism in crime scene cleanup.

Research - Revealing impulsivity and alcoholism's genetic and sociological connections.

So what is it that we might learn from social research with benefits for humanity? We should hope to learn about impulsivity because it reflects an important personality attribute related to suicidal behavior. On the way to such a finding we might also figure out why perfectly rationale people perform suicidal acts behind the wheel as they race to their local mall to buy by impulse. We might also learn why it suicide cleanup often reveals alcohol abuse and an impulsive lifestyle.

Social research into suicidal behavior means more than academic papers. It means some real information related to suicide, alcoholism, impulsivity, and aggression comes to light. We learn from our research. That's not a bad outcome by any means. The more we learn about humanity the better for all. For certain the more I know about suicide while doing suicide cleanup work the better.

I begin with the controversial research discussions to get them out of the way. So I note Mann and Stoff's published work from 1997. Some reader will leave this page after the first sentence no doubt, but that's life in contemporary research into the forbidden zone.

Prison inmates and psychiatric patients often serve as subjects for suicide, alcohol, and drug abuse research. Why? Because these people have frequent contact with researchers, they serve as the best subjects. These subjects remain outside of the commercial suicide cleanup market. We can have no hope of learning from them, except through academic research in controlled environments. More importantly, psychiatric patients with dangerous substance abuse behavior have a greater risk for suicidal behavior (Mann & Stoff, 1997).

Mann and Stoff (1997) claim that non-human primate studies show the effect of raising monkeys without enough mothering seems to be a risk factor for self-injurious behavior Such behavior reminds us of humans with a history of physical or sexual abuse who self-mutilate and act out suicidal behavior

Big Words - Big Patterns - Big Ideas

Borderline personality disorders stand out in Mann and Stoff's research into the self-injuring behavior. What this may have to do with humans comes to light at the neurochemical level. The serotonin systems and hyperresponsive behavior influence norepinephrine or dopamine systems.

Patterns in chemical balances matter the most as shown in the above. By depriving young monkey's of adult attention, the monkeys' chemical levels show different levels than other monkeys given more adult attention. Those deprived monkeys become more aggressive, more self-destructive, and more impulsive.

Now what follows reflects findings in suicidal behavior: serotonergic hyporesponsivity shows up in the serotonin differences found in suicidal behavior This means that both genetic and rearing effects on serotonergic function can continue into adult life with important consequences.

Both aggression and self-injurious behavior might show how a biological mechanism influences alcoholism. Physical and sexual abuse can aggravate a genetic predisposition to suicidal behavior Alcoholism and substance abuse, in general, are associated with higher levels of suicidal behavior and impaired serotonergic function. Here we find academics with their statistical research slowly find their way to what suicide cleanup technicians learn earlier on in the suicide cleanup occupation. Impulsivity, aggression, and drugs and alcohol play a part in most white male suicides.

The chicken and the egg problem arises here. Which comes first, the alcoholism and suicidal behavior, and then the faulty chemical patterns, or vice versa?

Monkey research reveals genes produce imbalances among mood altering chemicals. Maternal neglect reveals additional imbalances created in mood altering chemicals.

It's not surprising that modern theories about suicide have identified
impulsivity and hostility as major risk factors in suicidal behavior (Stoff & Mann, 1997). The research into the biology of suicidal behavior has revealed links with these two important behaviors.

Eddie Evans owns Biosafe and has wide experience in suicide cleanup. He does suicide cleanup alone. Each suicide cleanup rewards its cleaner by instilling a sense of importance in the work completed. Because nothing really moves forward until completion of suicide cleanup, there are rewards for the cleaner. On the downside the cleaner knows too well that some part of her or his life remains behind after suicide cleanup, and so it must be.

The suicide cleanup technician's skills, abilities, and knowledge serve her clients well.