--- title: "Glossary of biohazard and trauma remediation terms" description: "Plain definitions of the terms that appear on quotes, insurance claims and state forms — from UN 3291 to trauma scene waste practitioner." canonical: https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/ language: en-US risk_tier: R1 last_reviewed: 2026-08-18 --- # Glossary These are the terms that turn up on a quote, in a claim, or on a state form — usually at a moment when nobody has the patience to look them up. Definitions are short on purpose. Organization ## [Adult Protective Services](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/adult-protective-services/) The state agency that investigates suspected abuse, neglect or self-neglect of vulnerable adults. Involving them is not the same as removing someone from their home, which is the fear that usually stops families calling. [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/hoarding/) InsuranceProduct ## [Assignment of benefits](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/assignment-of-benefits/) A document handing a contractor your right to deal with your own insurer. Often routine, sometimes reasonable — but signing one unread on a doorstep is how families enter a dispute they did not know about. [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/hiring/how-to-vet-a-company/) Regulation ## [California Trauma Scene Waste Practitioner registration](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/cdph-tsw/) California requires registration with the state Department of Public Health before a business may begin trauma scene waste work, together with a demonstrated contract with a registered medical waste hauler and a permitted treatment facility. [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/licensing/california/) Service ## [Category 3 water](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/category-3-water/) Grossly contaminated water — sewage, flood water carrying sewage, or standing water that has become contaminated over time. Porous material it soaked is removed rather than dried, which is what makes it expensive. Certification ## [Certificate of Treatment](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/certificate-of-treatment/) A document a remediation company issues when work is complete, describing what was treated and how. Insurers and state compensation programs routinely require it. Ask whether a company issues one before you hire. [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/hiring/how-to-vet-a-company/) Service ## [Cleanup after a death by suicide](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/suicide-cleanup/) Decontamination and restoration of a space after a person died by suicide. Practically the same work as other trauma remediation; the difference that matters to families is which funding routes are open to them. MedicalCondition ## [Clutter-Hoarding Scale](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/clutter-hoarding-scale/) A five-level framework used to describe the severity of a hoarding situation. We do not publish cost bands per level, because no sourced mapping of the two exists that we could verify. [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/hoarding/) InsuranceProduct ## [Covered peril](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/covered-peril/) The event a policy insures against. Insurance does not cover cleanup as a category — it covers damage caused by a covered peril and then pays to put the property back. Ask your adjuster which peril your claim is being assessed under. [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/who-pays/insurance/) Service ## [Crime scene cleanup](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/crime-scene-cleanup/) Decontaminating a property after a violent incident, once investigators have released the scene. Law enforcement does not clean, and in most places no public agency does it either. Regulation ## [DOT hazardous materials rules for regulated medical waste](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/dot-medical-waste/) Waste from a trauma scene ships as UN 3291, Regulated Medical Waste, Division 6.2 — not as UN 3373. The generator keeps responsibility from collection through final treatment, and the waste must travel in DOT-approved packaging. [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/regulations/medical-waste-transport/) Regulation ## [Exposure control plan](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/exposure-control-plan/) The written document OSHA requires of any employer whose staff may contact blood, identifying which tasks carry exposure and what controls apply. It must be accessible to employees and reviewed at least annually. [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/regulations/osha-bloodborne-pathogens/) Regulation ## [Florida biomedical waste transporter registration](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/fl-biomedical-transporter/) Florida does not license trauma cleanup or regulate how it is performed. It does require biomedical waste transporter registration for anyone transporting 25 pounds or more from a trauma scene at one time; operating without it violates Fla. Stat. §381.0098(5). [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/licensing/florida/) MedicalCondition ## [Hoarding disorder](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/hoarding-disorder/) A recognized mental health condition involving persistent difficulty parting with possessions, regardless of their value, to the point that living spaces can no longer be used as intended. It is treatable, and treatment is what makes remediation last. [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/hoarding/) Service ## [Hoarding remediation](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/hoarding-remediation/) Restoring a home affected by hoarding disorder to a safe, habitable condition. Effective work is paced with the person who lives there and pairs with clinical treatment; a single clear-out without treatment commonly reverses. [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/hoarding/) InsuranceProduct ## [Homeowners and renters insurance](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/homeowners-insurance/) Property policies often pay for biohazard remediation when it follows a covered peril. An insurer cannot require a policyholder to use a particular cleanup vendor — that choice belongs to the policyholder. [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/who-pays/insurance/) Certification ## [IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/iicrc-s540/) The ANSI-approved consensus standard describing how trauma and crime scene remediation should be performed. First edition 2017, second edition 2023. It is a voluntary industry standard, not a government licence. [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/certifications/) Organization ## [National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/nacvcb/) The coordinating body for state compensation programs. It maintains a directory of every state program. It is not itself a payer — applications go to the state. [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/who-pays/victim-compensation/) Service ## [Odour remediation](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/odor-remediation/) Treating what remains in the air and in materials after removal. Done properly it follows removal; done instead of removal it masks a problem that returns. A company that only deodorises has not finished the job. Regulation ## [OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (29 CFR 1910.1030)](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/osha-bbp/) The federal workplace rule covering employees with reasonably anticipated contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials. It requires a written exposure control plan, universal precautions, employer-paid personal protective equipment, hepatitis B vaccination offered free within 10 working days of assignment, and annual training. [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/regulations/osha-bloodborne-pathogens/) Regulation ## [Other Potentially Infectious Materials (OPIM)](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/opim/) OSHA's named list of body fluids treated like blood: semen, vaginal secretions, cerebrospinal, synovial, pleural, pericardial, peritoneal and amniotic fluid, saliva in dental procedures, anything visibly contaminated with blood, and unfixed human tissue. Urine, faeces and vomit are not on it. InsuranceProduct ## [Payer of last resort](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/payer-of-last-resort/) What every state victim compensation program is. It pays what insurance and other sources do not, which means you file both rather than choosing between them, and the program will ask what insurance already covered. [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/who-pays/victim-compensation/) Regulation ## [Personal protective equipment (PPE)](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/ppe/) Fitted respiratory protection, full-body barrier protection, eye protection and gloves. Under federal rules the employer provides, cleans, repairs and replaces all of it at no cost to the worker. [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/regulations/osha-bloodborne-pathogens/) Company ## [ServiceMaster BioClean](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/servicemaster-bioclean/) Aftermath Services was acquired by ServiceMaster in April 2022 and rebranded ServiceMaster BioClean in January 2025. Service ## [Sewage and black water cleanup](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/sewage-cleanup/) Removing and decontaminating after a sewage backup or flood water carrying sewage. Classified as Category 3 — grossly contaminated — water, which means porous materials it soaked are removed rather than dried. CompensationProgram ## [State crime victim compensation](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/victim-compensation/) Every US state and territory runs a program that reimburses victims of violent crime for certain expenses. Many, though not all, cover crime scene cleanup. Programs are the payer of last resort and have their own reporting and filing deadlines. [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/who-pays/victim-compensation/) Company ## [Steri-Clean](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/steri-clean/) A US franchise operating in trauma and hoarding remediation. Regulation ## [Stigmatized property](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/stigmatized-property/) A property whose value may be affected by an event that occurred there rather than by its condition. Whether a death must be disclosed to a buyer or tenant is set by state law, and we have not yet researched it state by state. Service ## [Time to discovery](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/time-to-discovery/) How long passed before a person was found. It is the single largest driver of what a cleanup costs, because longer means fluids reached further into porous materials — and porous materials get removed rather than cleaned. [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/services/unattended-death-cleanup/) Certification ## [Trauma and Crime Scene Technician (TCST)](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/tcst/) The IICRC's individual technician certification built on the S540 standard. It certifies a person, not a company, and it is voluntary. [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/certifications/) Regulation ## [UN 3291 (Regulated Medical Waste)](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/un-3291/) The shipping classification trauma scene waste travels under, Division 6.2. It is not UN 3373, which covers biological substances shipped for diagnosis. A company using the wrong number is worth questioning. [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/regulations/medical-waste-transport/) Service ## [Unattended death cleanup](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/unattended-death-cleanup/) Cleaning and restoring a home after a person died alone and was not found for some time. What must be removed is decided by how far fluids reached into porous materials, not by the size of the room. [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/services/unattended-death-cleanup/) Regulation ## [Universal precautions](https://biohazardcrown.shop/glossary/universal-precautions/) The rule that all human blood and certain body fluids are treated as infectious, rather than only the ones that look like a risk. It is the operating assumption behind every procedure a trained crew follows. [More on this](https://biohazardcrown.shop/regulations/osha-bloodborne-pathogens/) Written by [Biohazard Crown editorial team](https://biohazardcrown.shop/authors/editorial-team/) Last reviewed: 2026-08-18 ## Related questions - [Certifications and what they mean](https://biohazardcrown.shop/certifications/) - [The rules that govern this work](https://biohazardcrown.shop/regulations/) - [Who pays for cleanup](https://biohazardcrown.shop/who-pays/)