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Biohazard Cleanup Firms Remain Largely Unregulated in Arkansas

Courtesy Joshua Gilmour, SafeGuard Restoration Group

A half-dozen biohazard removal businesses operate across Arkansas, both franchise and independent. Staff are on call 24/7 to clean up crime scenes and suicides, as well as contagious pathogens--in both private homes and businesses. Arkansas is among a majority of states that lack permitting oversight for trauma scene biorecovery operators. We profile a new Northwest Arkansas startup, SafeGuard Restoration Group, which employs best industrial practices, based, in part on federal OSHA guidelines.  We also talk with the director of the National Institute of Decontamination Specialists, a lead industry training firm, and president of the American Bio Recovery Association, which is lobbying for stricter regulations.

Jacqueline Froelich is an investigative reporter and news producer for Ozarks at Large.