Whether you want to stock a body fluid cleanup kit for your own safety or it's mandated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or the Center for Disease Control (CDC), there are certain standard items you should include. You can buy ready-made kits or stock one yourself. Hazardous body fluids include blood, vomit, urine or fecal matter and should always be cleaned up using protective safety equipment and effective disinfectants.
Instructions
1. Buy a wall mountable box to keep your required items. These boxes can be made of plastic or metal and should be clearly marked "Body Fluid Cleanup Kit." Many look like a standard first aid kit, so you will want the box marked, so people will know the difference.
2. Stock disposable rubber gloves. Only use individually packaged rubber gloves, so the remaining gloves are protected from contamination. The size and quantity of gloves included will vary depending on the size of the container being used and average size of the potential people who will be using these items. These boxes tend to be fairly small, so you can't take up too much room for just gloves. A good suggestion for smaller kits is to keep two pairs of the average sizes, generally medium and large, and if space allows, also include one pair of small and extra large.
3. Furnish disposable face masks in the body fluid cleanup kit. These not only protect people from getting germs in their mucous membranes (the mouth and nose), but also help mask odors during hazardous cleanup. These tend to come in one common size, so place at least two or three pre-packed masks in the kit. Some companies may also want to include goggles to protect the eyes.
4. Include anti-microbial/anti-bacterial spray or wipes and a germicidal spray or wipes in the kit for disinfecting. Be sure to keep any Material Safety Data Sheets required for the disinfecting materials included in a file to meet OSHA requirements.
5. Mount a supply of paper towels near the body fluid cleanup kit. These are obviously too large to fit inside the box, but it's important to have a large roll readily available and close enough to the kit for quick and easy access.
6. Determine what size of absorbent liquid spill control powder you should include. This powder is poured over liquid spills and expands/absorbs hazardous body fluids such as vomit, blood or urine. This product makes cleaning liquid spills safer and easier and will help eliminate odors. You can keep small amounts in a screw top, wide-mouth bottle in the kit, but larger amounts will have to be mounted next to the kit, preferably adjacent to the paper towels.
7. Provide biohazard waste bags to place all items used to cleanup the body fluid spill. These bags must be disposed of properly and cannot be put into the regular garbage. They can be incinerated or picked up by a hazardous waste handler.
8. Restock any items used from the body fluid cleanup kit immediately following the safe and complete cleanup of the current fluid spill. This will ensure the kit is always ready to go and nothing vital is missing during a hazardous emergency.
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