Crime cleanup firms mostly unregulated
By TIM ZATZARINY JR. Courier-Post Staff

     Despite rapid growth in the industry, crime- and trauma-scene cleanup companies are largely unregulated in the United States. Only two states, California and Florida, require the companies to be licensed. Andrew Yurchuck, owner of Pitman-based Bio-Clean of New Jersey, is lobbying for some type of state guidelines to govern his industry. "You don't just want any Tom, Dick and Harry to do it and it's ripe for consumer abuses,' said Yurchuck, who started his company in 1997.
     Some janitorial companies with no experience or training in cleaning up hazardous materials such as blood have branched off into crime- and trauma-scene cleanup hoping to make a tidy profit, Yurchuck said. "One of my concerns is people who think this is cool and get into it not knowing what they're doing,' Yurchuck said. The American Bio-Recovery Association -- an industry trade group based in Ipswich, Mass. -- offers a certification course for employees of companies like Bio-Clean. Kent Berg, co-founder of the association, has heard horror stories from families about disreputable companies who did such a shoddy job cleaning up death scenes that a second company had to be called in to finish the job. "I don't think some people really get the full picture' of how difficult and hazardous cleanup work can be, Berg said.
     Although companies such as Yurchuck's must follow state and federal guidelines for disposal of hazardous materials, there are no rules in New Jersey governing their overall operations. In California and Florida, death- and trauma-scene cleanup companies are overseen by the state and are required to have at least $1 million in liability insurance. "Regulating it is a way to make the industry a lot more professional,' Yurchuck said. "It will keep the people who are serious in order and people who are not serious will be discouraged.'
Reach Tim Zatzariny Jr. at (856) 251-3341 or tzatzariny@courierpostonline.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) Courier-Post. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc. by NewsBank, inc.

From The Courier Post
February 9, 2004 Edition: x Page: 4A