In NYC, after Crime Scene Investigators (CSI) police gather evidence and finish their investigation, what’s left on public streets sometimes doesn’t get cleaned up for weeks.
This is about change thanks to a recent “Trauma Scene Clean-up” bill that the City Council passed 48-1 last week – the Courier-Life reports.
“As it stands in the law right now, the city has no standard management practices for safely cleaning up homicides, car accidents, or other traumas that occur on city property,” said Councilmember Michael Nelson, who sponsored the legislation.
“Not only will this legislation create the establishment of appropriate standards for trauma scene cleanup, it will provide New Yorkers with helpful and up-to-date information on how they can safely and effectively clean their own property during these unfortunate circumstances,” he added.
The legislation requires the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to establish standard practices for trauma scene management on city property.
Nelson said the bill calls for a biohazard team to be called in after the CSI team leaves to ensure that blood and other material is taken care of in a professional way with the proper chemicals.
The only council member voting against the bill was Simcha Felder, who opposed it out of concern that the biohazard team may come on the scene before the Chevra Kaddisha has time to take all the blood and body parts left after the CSI team leaves.
Mayor Bloomberg is expected to sign the bill Dec. 31.
(Source: Courier-Life / Lipas)
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7 Responses
Thank you YW. That is a concern. Can we have them modify it to have the Chevra come first? The Chevra Kaddisha can respond before the biohazard team. But, do we have chevras that could do this?
I know here, we only get called for night work, after everthing was brought to the funeral home. We do all our work in the prep room. They are all instructed to provide us with every bit of cloth, etc., but I have never been to the scene of accidents. I am assuming someone else is doing this… I better check.
Thank you YW for bringing this issue to our attention.
As a Volunteer in the Chesed Shel Emes, that operates in the greater New York State, I actualy participated in many many trauma scene clean ups, and the authorities were very cooperative every single time, even when they had to keep train stations and major highways on a total lock down, until we finished our clean up.
We even had a couple of times that the authorities were amazed at the methods and the proffesionalism of the Chesed Shel Emes volunteers.
So on the questions if there is an organization capable of doing accident clean ups, the answer is YES.
and about the concern of the bio-hazard team causing headaches for the chevra kadisha. We have over come much bigger problems than that in New York State, like being able to sign a religous objection to an autopsy. Or in a situation where there has to be an autopsy, to have volunteers of the chevra kadisha stand there to witness the autopsy and guard on Kvod Haniftar, etc. etc.
So every body can relax, and every thing will be taken care of.
Let’s be fair.
While Chesed Shel Emes does a fine job, so do the volunteers of the Misaskim organization.
They have a reat relasionship with the NYC medical examiners offices and do “clean-ups” all the time.
They have multiple emergency response vehicles ready to be deployed 24 hrs a day.
#3 joe schmo:
You might be right, I was Just talking for my self, about my own experience.
Boruch hashem we have not one, but two organizations capable of cleaning up accident scenes. Many people do not know the details about what is involved, but I assure you that it is complicated and detailed. It involves cleaning of the blood and all body parts. After they are done, there won’t be anything left for the biohazard team. If they respond as quickly as the other NYC agencies, then Misaskim/Chesed shel emes will be long gone.
Left out was the end of the original article:
“But Nelson said his office is currently working with religious groups to ensure that proper notification is installed once a trauma scene occurs.”
# 2 I’m real proud of your posting & of your very good spelling, only 1 or 2 mistakes, Keep on doing mitzvos, der zchis zol dir beishtein! Your Mom!