The Top 13 Worst Jobs with the Best Pay

These are dirty jobs and somebody has to do them. At least they get paid well for their efforts
Think you have a lousy job? You're not alone. So do about half of your fellow workers—and about a quarter of them are only showing up to collect a paycheck, according to a survey conducted by London-based market information company TNS. Grumbling over the size of that check is common, too. About two-thirds of workers believe they don't get paid enough, says TNS—even though many of them may actually be overpaid, compared to average compensation data

Crime-Scene Cleaner
Average pay: $50,400
If crime-scene cleanup was just wiping blood off the floors—well, that would be easy. But CSI fans with get-rich-quick dreams should note the job involves more than handiness with a mop and a tolerance for the smell of decomposing flesh. Getting rid of bodily fluids typically calls for more rough-and-ready methods, such as ripping up carpet, tile, and baseboards. It also sometimes means working in confined spaces (if someone was electrocuted in an attic, for example). And when tearing up old houses, workers face exposure to hazards such as lead paint and asbestos—not to mention the combustible chemicals involved in drug-lab abatement.

Crime Scene Cleanup: What It Involves

The Restoration Resource

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.

Risks of Using In-house Employees for Environmental Cleanups

By Gerard M. Giordano, Esq.

In an attempt to save money, property owners may be tempted to use their own Employees to clean up contamination at their facilities in order to comply with state or federal environmental laws. However, there may not be any real savings because when property owners (as employers)do commit to such a venture,they must comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA)regulations that may be applicable. These are designed to protect employees from occupational injuries and illnesses,and failure to comply with these regulations could result in fines that may offset any savings.

A property owner who orders his employees to clean up or work with hazardous substances must comply with a number of precautionary regulations. The most comprehensive is 29 CFR 1910.120, which deals with hazardous waste operations and emergency response. An employer is required to develop and put into writing a safety and health program for any employees engaged in hazardous waste cleanup operations.

The elements of an effective program include requiring an employer to identify and evaluate specific hazards and to determine the appropriate safety and health control procedures to protect employees before any work is initiated. Likewise, protective equipment must be utilized by employees during the initial site entry and, if required,during subsequent work at the site. The employer must also periodically monitor employees who may be exposed to hazardous substances in excess of OSHA ’s regulations.

Once the presence and concentration of specific hazardous substances and health hazards have been established, employees involved in the cleanup operations must be informed of any risks associated with their work. Under certain ircumstances,regular ongoing medical surveillance of employees by a licensed physician, and without cost to the employees or lost pay, may be required.

Numerous other safeguards are also required by OSHA. For example, OSHA’s hazardous communications program, 29 CFR 1910.120, requires an employer to establish and implement a hazard communication program if, during the course of the cleanup, employees may be exposed to hazardous chemicals.

The requirements are essentially the same as those in workplaces where employees are routinely exposed to hazardous chemicals. The program must include container labeling, production of material safety data sheets and employee training. The employer must also provide a full description of the OSHA compliance program to employees, contractors and subcontractors involved with the cleanup operations as well as OSHA,and to any other federal,state or local agency with regulatory authority over the cleanup.

Regulation 29 CFR 1910.120 also requires an employer that retains the services of a contractor or subcontractor to inform them of any identified potential hazards of the cleanup operations. Generally, it is the involvement of employees that triggers an employer’s obligations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. If contractors were retained, it would be the contractors’ responsibility to comply with these OSHA requirements on behalf of their employees, assuming that the employer
retaining the contractor has neither employees involved in the cleanup nor employees potentially exposed to health hazards arising from the cleanup.

In addition to the contractor’s required compliance with OSHA regulations, it is imperative that a property owner include in any agreement with the contractor that the contractor must comply with all pertinent OSHA regulations. If possible,the agreement should also provide for indemnifications from the contractor to the property owner for claims arising from the cleanup. These indemnifications will be important if the employees of the contractor are injured or subsequently become ill because of such work. The indemnifications should survive the completion of the work. These precautions will help insulate the property owner from both governmental actions and potential third-party claims.

Failure to comply with OSHA regulations on the part of the property owner who uses his own employees to perform a cleanup or work with hazardous substances may result in substantial penalties. Under OSHA, fines can be levied for each violation found by an inspector. These violations can result in non-serious, serious or willful violations with penalties as high as $70,000 for each violation. If a subsequent inspection is performed and violations are found which have not been corrected from an original inspection,daily penalties could be levied resulting in substantial fines.

Compliance with OSHA regulations should be a factor when a property owner decides to use in-house employees for cleanups. In the long run, there may not be any savings to the employer. Furthermore, because of the employer’s lack of familiarity with the OSHA regulations governing the cleanup of hazardous sites,the employer could be subject to fines as a result of its failure to comply with the OSHA regulations.

Therefore, it may be prudent in the long run to retain a company whose business is devoted to doing only cleanups. This company will have the expertise and continuing obligations to protect its employees.

Gerard Giordano is special counsel at the law firm of Cole, Schotz, Meisel, Forman & Leonard, P.A., based in Hackensack, NJ. He is a member of the firm’s Environmental Department, and his practice focuses particularly on OSHA matters. Prior to practicing law, Mr. Giordano worked at the U.S. Department of Labor – Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as an industrial hygiene compliance officer.

The Corpse Is Gone; Enter Quietly the Cleaners

By FRANCIS X. CLINES
The New York Times

Once cadavers and evidence are removed from a typical crime scene, the police and paramedics drive away, leaving a traumatized family and an opportunity for a delicate enterprise now quietly evident across the land.

''The family just went through this horrific event and now they have to clean up, too?'' Becky Della-Rodolfa said, describing the rationale of her private Philadelphia business that specializes in the cleaning and repairing of the aftermath of homicides, suicides and other mayhem.

More than 200 such companies have been started in urban areas in recent years, according to a Washington lobbying association that is seeking government standards for an industry that practitioners find fraught with public health and professional concerns.

''We need standard ethics and procedural rules for a business that is growing by leaps and bounds,'' said Ron Gospodarski, president of the lobbying group, the American Bio-Recovery Association. The three-year-old association serves an industry that is thriving on the fact that government agencies generally make no provision to clean up the scenes of traumatic deaths.

An exception is Phoenix, where the municipal government has contracted with Dale Cillian, an industry pioneer with 15 years' experience, to clean up after biohazardous crimes and accidents, from homicides to car crashes.

''We should be under the same standards as the funeral industry,'' Mr. Cillian said, warning that fly-by-night operators have been appearing more frequently.

His business, Biopro LLC, has cleaned more than 5,000 crime and accident scenes using high-tech equipment and medical-waste-disposal techniques that the national association wants established as a government requirement.

''I was a paramedic for 18 years,'' Mr. Gospodarski said. He runs a cleanup company in the New York City area that routinely deals with blood-borne and airborne contaminants at scenes of violent deaths or deaths that are not immediately discovered. His workers, wearing protective gear, move in after the police and rip out floorboards and wall panels in tracking the flow of wastes.

''A lot of us got into it from public safety jobs because we got tired of seeing families shocked in the midst of tragedy as they watched cops and medics just strip off their gloves and walk away,'' Mr. Gospodarski said.

He noted the premium on speed in his business, citing one overnight cleanup at a New York restaurant where four people were shot to death. ''An eight-hour job, very messy, blood trails on the walls through the place, and the manager was very, very grateful we could be there within 30 minutes,'' Mr. Gospodarski said of his company, the Bio-Recovery Corporation.

Ms. Della-Rodolfa started her business, Trauma Scene Restoration, when she heard a friend who was a police officer talk of the frustration of leaving shocked families behind after a death. ''I don't think society knows this type of industry exists,'' she said, describing the largely unadvertised manner of the business in which a funeral director, medical examiner or sympathetic ambulance driver might inform a family of a local specialist.

''Restoring the scene and peace of mind'' is the motto of Ms. Della-Rodolfa's small company, as printed in an advertisement in the local yellow pages under House Cleaning. It is embossed as well on packets of golf tees that she distributes at police and medical examiners' conventions. ''They love golf,'' she said.

''We can't call up troubled families -- that would be unethical ambulance chasing,'' Ms. Della-Rodolfa declared as she dealt with a new job. It involved cleaning the home of an elderly recluse who had died alone in a house knee-deep in trash, with 12 cats left unattended for six weeks.

This job will cost $30 an hour and require some messy labor, she estimated. Other jobs at scenes of violence or extended decomposition, with potentially infectious blood and other waste, cost $100 an hour.

She has a staff of three full-time workers with others on call. They use an array of disposable clothing and respirators, and subcontract with a medical-waste company to burn all corpse-related residue.

This precaution is something that Mr. Gospodarski would like to see made a government regulation.

He described a job in the Bronx involving a man whose body was found two weeks after death and who turned out to have had hepatitis and been H.I.V.-positive. Effluvia had seeped into the apartment below, creating a potentially nightmarish situation that local health officials knew nothing about, Mr. Gospodarski said.

Beyond violent deaths, decomposition cases involving people who died alone and neglected make up half of his business, Mr. Gospodarski said.

In Phoenix, Mr. Cillian, who is a firefighter, obtained a general contractor's license to qualify for the dismantling and repairing that can be required at a noisome crime scene. Jobs average about $350, but chaotic crime scenes can cost thousands, he said, noting that he does pro bono work in cases of hardship.

''There's a lot of shootings out here, and the scene at one of them looked like a war zone,'' he said of a recent shootout between a police officer and his killer. ''A hundred rounds were fired; the place was pocked like a movie set.'' When he heard that the police officer's grieving family members wanted to see the scene, Mr. Cillian said, he had all the bullet-torn doors and blood-stained surfaces removed or covered to spare them extra trauma.

Some states, including New York, offer crime victims up to $2,500 for their expenses, and lately trauma cleanup costs have been accepted, Mr. Gospodarski said. But home insurance claims are more open to dispute, as in instances of suicide, Ms. Della-Rodolfa said.

''That can mean the second trauma,'' she said. ''This is when a family must relive the first one all over again by cleaning it up.''

Dentist pleads innocent in medical waste case

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE, N.J. - A Pennsylvania dentist charged with dumping medical waste into New Jersey's coastal waters has pleaded not guilty.

Thomas McFarland entered his plea Thursday. He is seeking admission to a pretrial intervention program that would let him avoid a criminal record after a period of supervised oversight.

State officials don't yet know whether they'll challenge the move.

McFarland is accused of dumping waste that washed up on several Cape May County beaches last summer, forcing them to close for several days.

Philadelphia Couple Cleans Up Crime Scenes

Sunshine Cleaning

Sunshine Cleaning is a comedy-drama starring Amy Adams and Emily Blunt.

Sunshine Cleaning follows an average family that finds the path to its dreams in an unlikely setting. A single mom and her slacker sister find an unexpected way to turn their lives around - once the high school cheerleading captain who dated the quarterback, Rose Lorkowski (Amy Adams) now finds herself a thirty something single mother working as a maid. Her sister Norah (Emily Blunt) is still living at home with their dad Joe (Alan Arkin), a salesman with a lifelong history of ill-fated get rich quick schemes. Desperate to get her son into a better school, Rose persuades Norah to go into the crime scene clean-up business with her to make some quick cash. In no time, the girls are up to their elbows in murders, suicides and other…specialized situations. As they climb the ranks in a very dirty job, the sisters find a true respect for one another and the closeness they have always craved finally blossoms. By building their own improbable business, Rose and Norah open the door to the joys and challenges of being there for one another—no matter what—while creating a brighter future for the entire Lorkowski family.

Here’s the Sunshine Cleaning Trailer, hit HQ in the menu bottom right for improved quality. The movie is due out March 13, 2009.

Crime & Trauma Scene Bio-Recovery – Growing Pains in a Niche Industry

by Kent Berg

Like many people in the restoration industry considering expanding into crime and trauma scene bio-recovery, you may want to know about the trends in the marketplace and who your potential competitors are. However, before I tell you where the industry is and where it is going, let’s look at from where it came… In the mid-to-late 1990s, the crime and trauma bio-recovery industry was in its infancy. There were only a handful of companies providing service as full-time dedicated businesses. As these companies began to market themselves and the media began running articles and interviews, budding entrepreneurs took notice, and a small but steady stream of novices entered the industry. The insurance industry also began to recognize the capabilities of trained and certified companies. There were fewer complaints and callbacks from their insureds, and the frequency of “rip and tear” remediation dropped in favor of proper decontamination and disinfection practices.Today, roughly 12 years into the life of this business, we are seeing families, businesses and industrial customers getting their scenes cleaned up without having to ask untrained and psychologically unprepared employees or family members to undertake these gruesome tasks. But with this influx of new companies has come problems. Since1996 the industry has watched as an incredible influx of new companies try their hand at this unique and macabre business. What was once an open market is rapidly changing. While many areas of the country are still in need of crime scene cleanup companies, many areas are saturated. States like Florida, California, Ohio and New Jersey, and cities like Phoenix, Atlanta, Seattle and Philadelphia are literally teeming with bio-recovery service providers. As more companies enter these markets, there results a dilution of the supply/demand ratio, and thus the newcomers are either going out of business shortly after start-up or they diminish the incomes of the established companies there before them, in turn forcing them to diversify or die. Why is this happening? As a niche market, there are a limited number of scenes that need to be cleaned. Unlike other industries that entice new potential clients to try their services, the bio-recovery industry has to wait for something horrible to happen and either make themselves available or hope for a referral from public safety officials. When there are more bio-recovery companies than horrible events, company owners have to look for other ways to supplement their income. Many companies have entered the fire/water/smoke remediation market, while others have expanded into the mold/lead/asbestos fields. Just as remediation companies have expanded into the crime scene markets, we are seeing many in the crime scene markets enter the traditional abatement/remediation fields in order to survive.So what is the big attraction of crime scene bio-recovery? The lure of big money, no formal education and low start-up costs has attracted a broad variety of players. Like most industries, the quality of service varies widely. Although the American Bio-Recovery Association (www.americanbiorecovery.com) has gained significant recognition and credibility for many in the industry, there is still a disturbing number of companies who fail to comply with federal and state regulations, have received no formal training or industry certification, or have failed to embrace ethical business practices. Unlike many business owners who see crime scene cleanup as a moral calling to provide a service very similar to funeral homes, others see an opportunity to plunder the coffers of the dead and bereaved, often charging obscene fees for shoddy work. Unfortunately, the public is painfully unaware of what constitutes a good company and often believes that these services are regulated and certified by the government. The greatest problem we face with this industry is that it is unregulated in most states, counties, and municipalities. With the exception of Louisiana, New York City, Florida and California, there are no industry-specific regulations, nor am I currently aware of any government entities in that intend to propose legislation in the foreseeable future. With a lack of governmental oversight, it is often ABRA that gets phone calls from the public, insurance adjusters, lawyers, and state attorneys wishing to “report” unsatisfactory experiences with poor service providers. Some of the more unnerving complaints include such tales as: “When our family walked across the ‘professionally decontaminated’ vinyl tiled kitchen floor, blood spurted up between the tiles splattering our shoes” or “After the crew left, we went to remove a pot of chili from the stove and found a three-inch skull fragment floating on top.” There are also stories of scare tactics like, “They told us that due to the biological hazards of airborne contaminants, all of the home contents had to be disposed of including the china, silverware, appliances, everything, and then weeks later we found most of our belongings being sold at a flea market.” Training has also been a hot issue in the industry. Like the companies who make up the industry, the training offered varies widely. Although ABRA-approved training centers provide highly competent, in-depth training programs with ABRA certification, and a few independent for-profit entities reportedly have a good curriculum, many more companies have popped up offering less-than-stellar training. Many service providers say they are “certified” on their Web sites, but don’t say by whom. Many say they are “OSHA Certified,” but that is simply not true: OSHA does not certify companies to do this type of work, they only provide training in safety regulation compliance. On the bright side, the industry as a whole has established itself as a legitimate and needed service. More and more businesses, industries, public safety agencies and social assistance organizations are recognizing what scientists and psychologists have been saying for years, that qualified cleanup companies relieve families and the public from being exposed to disease hazards as well as the psychological trauma associated with these horrific scenes. In fact, government agencies are beginning to initiate contingency contracts in case something should happen on city, county, or federal property, and many are begin to recognize ABRA. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recognizes ABRA’s position in the industry and has sought its assistance regarding the distribution of OSHA compliance materials to the industry.So where do we truly stand as an industry? I like to think we are in our adolescent stage, the rebellious, finding-our-own-way stage. As we mature we will see more professionalism, especially as a more savvy public begin to be more discriminating in seeking out a qualified service provider for their scene cleanup. Even as the economy continues its downturn, we know this is an industry that will not go away, and in all probability a recession will, sadly, generate more cleanups. On the other hand, as the U.S. job market becomes weaker and more people lose their jobs to downsizing, they will look for opportunities that appear lucrative, easy to get into, and don’t require a college education. Many will think that crime and trauma scene bio-recovery is the answer. Where they are geographically, ethically, and educationally will determine if they are right.