The Gruesome Business of Forensic Cleaning
Cleaning up from an unattended death in which a body decomposes over days or even weeks can be a traumatic experience, but Nastassia Jones, an administration manager and bio-recovery technician for Australian Forensic Cleaning, says, "The contamination that results from an unattended death and the smell is certainly confronting too, but it's the context of a life lived that stays with you. . Seeing the dinner he must have made before he died, his stacks and stacks of art (and the) letters he had written." She assists on forensic cleanups so that she can better understand the process when talking with potential customers. Biohazards can include drug labs, sewage spills, hoarder houses, suicides, and homicides. Jones says, "I have developed the ability to work with people who have faced loss. I think providing practical support goes a huge way towards supporting people emotionally. That's what I like about this job."