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Universal Precautions:

This information sheet contains universal precautions. Universal precautions are used with the assumption that a hazard exists, whether it actually does or not, unless proven otherwise. Therefore, protective measures are used until the hazard is proven to not exist. Yes, universal precautions might not be needed. However, they’re used because: experience has shown that a hazard most likely exists; the consequences of a hazard far outweigh the trouble and cost of using precautions; lack of time or cost prohibit the analysis needed to rule out a hazard; and/or persons who don’t have the knowledge or skills to analyze for a hazard will be working in a potentially hazardous environment. One point needs to be made, post-flood buildings have a high probability of having health or safety hazards. Whenever you are unsure about how hazardous a situation is, always use caution until the situation is proven otherwise.

Health Precautions:

Any tetanus shot that was received more than 5 years ago is assumed to be ineffective protection. Other immunizations might also be needed based on local health department recommendations. If you cannot remember when you last received a particular shot, assume it to be ineffective. Any person injured while working in post-flood buildings needs to be up-to-date on his or her tetanus shots. All persons might need other shots; pay attention to news bulletins from health organizations.

All persons with the following health problems shouldn’t enter post-flood buildings until after the they are completely cleaned up, decontaminated, and dried out: persons with severe asthma, mold allergies or chronic respiratory disease; persons who have had other hypersensitivity respiratory reactions to bacteria or mold, such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis or humidifier fever; and persons who are immunocompromised in any way, such as persons with HIV or AIDS. Even after the buildings are cleaned, dried and decontaminated, such persons should leave the building if they develop symptoms, until the problem can be investigated.

Anyone who develops unusual symptoms, such as the following, should seek immediate medical attention: wheezing, difficulty breathing, chest tightness, chronic cough, fever, rashes or hives, extreme respiratory irritation. Remember that this cleanup is being performed in an environment where you can potentially be exposed to hazardous materials. Furthermore, the stress of working harder than many people are used to could cause injury. Any unusual symptoms could signal serious exposure to hazardous chemical or biological materials, or another serious medical problem.

Wash hands and face frequently with anti-bacterial soap and drinking-quality water. When washing hands, scrub the areas under nails with a fingernail brush; dirt under the nails can harbor contaminated material. Wash hands and face before eating anything or smoking; contaminated material from dirt on the face and hands can be transferred to food or cigarettes, and ingested or inhaled. Avoid touching your eyes, mouth, ears, or nose with dirty hands. Keep in mind that personal cleanliness can be a major prevention of illness or disease.

Wash all cuts, abrasions, lacerations, and puncture wounds immediately with anti-bacterial soap and drinking-quality water for at least one minute, then apply an anti-bacterial salve and bandage. Have all deep cuts treated immediately by a medical professional. Infection can set in rapidly after injury. When in doubt about treating an injury, seek medical care.

Don’t use showers, toilets, or other facilities until you are certain that the sanitary lines from the building are clear. Sewer water could back up into the building if the sewer or septic system is not working correctly.

General Safety Precautions:

Unless proven otherwise, consider all mud, debris and water pools to be hiding electrical shock, laceration or slip hazards, chemical or biological exposure hazards, or wild animals. First, verify that all power is out in the area before walking through mud or water, or before clearing debris. Shuffle walk through mud and water pools when entering for the first time. Lift debris in piles with poles or sticks to check for hazards or wild animals before moving the debris. Inspect the building using only flashlights-never open flames of any kind.

Consider all pooled water inside and outside of the building to be biological or chemical exposure hazards, unless proven otherwise by qualified personnel. Don’t permit children to play in water pools or mud. Attempts should be made to drain and dry the pools as soon as possible. Flooded basements should be emptied as soon as possible; but care should be taken to assure that the foundation will not collapse during draining. (Pressure from the water in the ground surrounding the foundation could cause the foundation to collapse.) If you don’t know how to drain the basement without causing collapse, have a qualified person do it.

Consider all mold (a.k.a. fungi or mildew) and bacteria to be toxin producers. Some mold produce particles and volatile organic compounds that irritate most people’s eyes and respiratory systems. But, some mold and bacteria have been linked to serious respiratory health problems and death. Risking exposure isn’t worth the time that could be spent in recovery from illness, and definitely not worth death.

Unusual odors, or irritation of the skin and mucous membranes should be considered to be signs of toxic chemical exposure, unless proven otherwise by qualified personnel. Be aware that some toxic chemicals don’t have odors that warn of their presence. If irritation of the skin or mucous membranes is encountered, leave the area immediately, wash the affected skin area with soap and water, and then be checked by medical personnel. Have qualified personnel check the area for chemical hazards before returning to it.

Combustion appliances and equipment will cause carbon monoxide poisoning when used in a building, unless proven otherwise by qualified personnel. Use all combustion equipment, such as gas-powered electrical generators and grills outside of the building. Make certain to locate them where their exhaust will not enter the building. Only heaters made to be used indoors should be used indoors; however, use them with caution and adequate ventilation. Follow manufacturers precautions about using combustion equipment. If you show symptoms of dizziness, chronic headaches or nausea, excessive tiredness, or a cherry red skin color, suspect carbon monoxide poisoning and seek medical care.

Any materials or furnishings that might have absorbed water (furniture, building materials, mattresses, etc.) could weigh over five times more than they did before flooding. (Water weighs 7 ½ pounds per cubic foot.) Use caution when lifting anything, and lift with the legs. Remember that water can wick farther up some materials than the level of the water; so, an item might have absorbed more water than expected.

Don’t connect electrical generators to the electrical systems of the building. This could be a shock hazard to those in the building or those working on power lines. Use generators to power only devices connected to extension cords. Make sure that all extension cords are protected by ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) and overload protectors. Make sure that the extension cords have adequate capacity to handle the equipment they are being used for, and that they are approved for use in wet areas. Don’t use frayed or damaged extension cords. Follow all equipment safety precautions; even then, don’t use equipment that you aren’t skilled in using without supervision.

Use only wet/dry shop vacuums for vacuuming up water and wet materials. If possible, pipe the vacuum exhaust out of the building using additional length of vacuum hose. The exhaust could contain water aerosol from the material being vacuumed up. This aerosol might contain microbiological materials.

All debris should be moved immediately to disposal containers, such as dumpsters, or placed in plastic garbage bags and sealed. Don’t accumulate piles of debris that could be microbiological breeding grounds or hiding places for wild animals.

Fatigue, stress, and rushing leads to accidents. Don’t overwork yourself and get plenty of rest. Don’t rush the work or take short cuts.

Cleaning and Decontamination Procedures:

Note that surfaces should always be cleaned and decontaminated. The following procedure is used for cleaning and decontaminating surfaces that were under water inside post-flood buildings:

1. Remove debris and materials that cannot be shoveled or scooped.
2. Shovel or scoop up dirt and mud, and remove it from the building.
3. Wash all surfaces with clean water.
4. Wash with a soap or detergent solution.
5. Rinse with clean water.
6. Apply a disinfectant solution.
7. After 15 to 20 minutes, rinse the disinfecting solution off.
8. Remove as much water as possible using a wet/dry vacuum or dry cloths.
9. Air dry as rapidly as possible, without damaging the item.

Water used in cleaning should be clean water, but doesn’t have to be of the same quality as drinking water. Disinfectant solutions can be made from household bleach that contains at least 5.25% sodium hypochlorite. For porous, dirty surfaces (wood, cloth, concrete, etc.), one cup of bleach should be used for every 10 cups (about 1/2 gallon) of water. For non-porous, dirt-free surfaces (metal, glass, plastic, etc.), one cup of bleach should be used for every 100 cups (about 6 gallons) or water. Note that these concentrations are the maximum and minimum concentrations; they aren’t absolutes. Use your judgment about concentration based on the surface to be disinfected. The more porous or rough a surface is, the more concentrated the bleach solution should be because porous or rough surfaces cannot be cleaned as effectively as non-porous or smooth surfaces.

Note that bleach can corrode, etch, lighten or otherwise negatively affect some materials, depending on the concentration. Small sections of a material should be tested with the bleach solution first to see if it affects the material. Be sure to leave the bleach solution on for as long as you would during the decontamination process. If the bleach solution harms the material, other disinfectants, such as Lysol or PineSol, can be used. Note that these other disinfectants can be used at any time instead of bleach. Bleach is less expensive, but as effective as the other disinfectants for decontaminating flood damaged items. Bleach should never be mixed with any other products unless the product label states that it is okay, because the bleach could react with them and produce hazardous gases. If in doubt, don’t mix them.

Gloves need to be worn when using any cleaner, detergent, or disinfectant because the cleaner can cause skin problems. Furthermore, most cleaners and disinfectants contain respiratory irritants, whether or not masking fragrances have been added. Well ventilate the areas where cleaner and disinfectant solutions are mixed and used. Read and follow all safety precautions on the labels of the cleaner and disinfectant products you use.

Protective Equipment:

Use protective personal equipment. Required equipment should be long-sleeved shirts, long pants, goggles, head protection against bumps and falling debris, heavy-soled shoes or boots, and work gloves. Quality respirators are needed in areas where dust, mist or fibers are being generated into the air from cleanup or demolition work, and recommended in areas that have a musty odor. Heavy soled rubber boots or waders are needed when walking through water pools or deep mud.

Food and Drinking Water:

Drink only water you know is safe for drinking. Safe water is usually water in sealed bottles that weren’t under water, water that has been stated as being safe by health officials, or water that you have treated according to health department guidelines. Wash and decontaminate any containers used for water before refilling.

Discard all food not in tin cans; it should be considered unfit to eat. Discard all food in tin cans that are swollen, leaking, or corroded. For the remaining tin cans, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends removing their labels, washing and disinfecting them. Be sure to mark them to be able to identify their contents later. In all cases, when in doubt, throw it out.

Building Structure:

Unless qualified personnel state otherwise, the following are signs of unsafe structural conditions:

• buildings moved off of or shifted on their foundations;
• washed out soil around foundations;
• large cracks or gaps in foundations or basement walls that didn’t exist before the flood;
• missing floor joist, main beam, or porch roof supports;
• sagging roofs, floors or ceilings;
• floors that bounce or give when walked on;
• walls that move when pushed;
• gaps between steps and porches;
• leaning walls;
• loose ceiling or wall materials;
• doors or windows stuck for reasons other than swelling due to water or whose frame is racked;
• or other changes in the shape or structure of the building.
• For buildings with chimneys, fireplaces, or other interior brick or stone structures, consider unusual gaps, cracks, loose materials, sags, misalignments or leaning in the structure to be signs of weak structure.

Never enter a building that has an unsafe structural condition until a qualified person checks out the building and the structure is properly braced or repaired. If the condition is found after entering the building, everyone should leave the building immediately, an inspector called in, and unsafe materials removed or structures braced before work resumes inside the building.

Electrical Systems:

Consider any downed power lines within one block of the building to be potential shock hazards until proven otherwise. (Electricity can travel for great distances through water, fence materials or other conductors, and some wires might be hidden in the mud.) Consider all wiring in buildings to be shock hazards until it has been checked out by a building inspector or electrician. Until then, turn the power off at the building’s service panel. Have only persons knowledgeable about electrical shock hazards shut the power off. All electric circuit breakers, GFCIs and fuses that were under water need replacing. Switches and outlets that were under water can be cleaned and reused if still functional; but when in doubt, throw it out. All electrical motors that were under water need cleaning, drying and inspection by a qualified person before being put back in service. All light fixtures that were under water need to be opened, cleaned, dried and checked before being put back in service.

LP, Natural Gas and Fuel Oil Lines:

Consider all gas lines to be leaking unless proven otherwise by leak checks. Gas lines should be cut off at the service supply until after cleanup is completed and gas appliances have been serviced. All gas control valves on gas-combustion appliances that were under water need to be replaced. Leak checks need to be performed on all lines when the appliances are returned to service. At any time and even if the gas has been turned off, gas odors should be considered to be a sign of a leak, unless proven otherwise by fire or utility personnel. (Gas can travel underground from leaks in other locations.) When odors are detected, the building should be evacuated immediately and fire or utility personnel called in to check for leaks.

Oil tanks are considered to be leaking, unless proven otherwise. Shut the line off at the tank until after cleanup is completed and the oil furnace has been serviced. When the furnace is put back in service, check for leaking lines.

Building Materials:

Assume that any building materials (carpet, padding, wallboard, wallpaper, ceiling tiles, etc.) that are moist or wet 24 hours after the water recedes has mold growing on or in it, even if you cannot see or smell it. Replaceable building materials that cannot be thoroughly cleaned, decontaminated and rapidly dried should be discarded. Irreplaceable building materials should be cleaned and decontaminated by professionals as soon as possible. Wall paneling made from wood laminates or vinyl might be cleaned and decontaminated, and reinstalled. Low-cost paneling, made of particle board for example, should be discarded. Consider all wall and floor coverings (for example, wallpaper, carpet, padding, and vinyl flooring) and insulation other than foam insulation to be contaminated with mold growth, and discard them if they are replaceable. Foam insulation needs to be cleaned, decontaminated, and dried thoroughly. Irreplaceable floor and wall coverings should be cleaned and decontaminated professionally as rapidly as possible. Remember, if in doubt, throw it out.

Consider all enclosed wall, ceiling and floor cavities that were under water to be areas where toxic mold or bacteria are growing. These cavities must be opened, cleaned, decontaminated, and thoroughly dried. In general, walls that were under water should be stripped to the studs and outer skin of the building up to about one foot above the flood line. The remaining wall cavity above the flood line should be checked for mold growth, and areas where mold is found growing should also be opened. Floor and ceiling cavities usually can have one side of the cavity exposed for work. Note that checking for mold growth in ceiling cavities above the flood line might also be prudent if these areas have gotten wet. Walls, ceilings and floor cavities with non-replaceable sheeting materials or wall coverings will need access holes made in each stud or joist cavity to allow cleaning, disinfecting and drying. These cavities should be professionally cleaned and decontaminated.

Building materials made from particle and wafer board that were under water should be discarded. Some of these materials swell when gotten wet and will never return to their previous shape. Mold might have also grow within the material and be nearly impossible to remove.

Buildings built before 1975 might have asbestos or lead paint. Asbestos was used primarily as insulation or a tape on heating systems. Consider all white fibrous material used on heating system components to be asbestos and extremely hazardous. Loose or friable asbestos needs to be removed. Paint can be tested for lead using testing kits available at some building supply centers. If in doubt, have questionable materials checked by qualified personnel. If you find asbestos or lead, contact your state or federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) or an industrial hygiene firm for information on proper removal and disposal techniques.

Dry the interior of the building as rapidly as possible using dehumidifiers, heated air, and outdoor ventilation air. Using a wet/dry vacuum to pull water out of the materials will also help speed drying.

Personal Property:

Assume that any material that is moist or wet 24 hours after the water recedes has mold growing on or in it, even if you cannot see or smell it. Most paper items, and clothing and linens made from natural materials are highly susceptible to fungal growth. These items should be taken care of first.

All personal items that are being kept and that were under water should be rinsed off. Clothing and linens should be laundered in hot water and dried in a dryer, or sent to a dry cleaner.

Nonessential paper items should be discarded. Other paper items should be air dried. Photos can be wiped off and air dried. If possible, copy essential paper items after they have dried and discard the original. If you cannot tend to the paper items quickly, rinse and freeze them until you can.

Discard all health and beauty supplies, cosmetics, bandages and medicines that were under water.

Children’s toys that are being kept should be cleaned and decontaminated before the children play with them.

All other personal property will also most likely be contaminated. All replaceable property that cannot be cleaned, disinfected and dried thoroughly, such as upholstered furniture, and mattresses, should be discarded.

Property made from particle or wafer board should also be discarded. Property that doesn’t readily absorb water, such as metal or quality wood furniture, should be cleaned and decontaminated. Invaluable property that has absorbed water should be professionally cleaned and decontaminated. If possible, upholstering and fabric on irreplaceable furniture should be replaced. If these cannot be replaced, the fabric should be removed and decontaminated, and the stuffing replaced.

Consider all electric appliances that were under water to be shock hazards. All appliances will need to be cleaned, decontaminated, dried thoroughly and checked before being used. Some appliances might have to be discarded. Qualified appliance service personnel should do the work on larger appliances, and probably on the smaller ones too.

Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Systems:

The interior surfaces of HVAC equipment that were under water are reservoirs for mold and bacteria growth. The interior components of the air handling unit (a.k.a. furnace, air conditioner, central air system) will need to be inspected, cleaned and decontaminated by professionals. Insulation inside the air handling unit might need to be replaced if it is damaged or if it has mold growing on it.

Fans will need to be removed, cleaned, decontaminated and dried thoroughly before being placed back in the air handling unit. Qualified service personnel need to replace the gas control valves on gas-combustion units. These personnel also need to clean, check and service the heating and air conditioning equipment, and control systems of all air handling units that were under water.

Registers or diffusers can be removed, washed, decontaminated, and reinstalled. Unlined ductwork can be disassembled, washed, decontaminated, dried and reassembled by persons doing cleanup if they have the necessary skills. Lined ductwork should be checked and cleaned by professionals. If the lining in the ductwork is damaged or has mold growing on it, the insulation should be replaced. Ductboard ducts should be replaced.

Exhaust fans need to be removed, cleaned, decontaminated and dried thoroughly before being reinstalled and put back in service. Persons doing the cleanup can do this work if they have the skills to do it. (http://siri.uvm.edu/library/flood.html)