Got a gross cleanup? Who you gonna call?

Pacific Business News (Honolulu) - by Linda Chiem Pacific Business News

Tina Yuen, PBN
Theresa Nishite and Tom Tominbang prepare for cleanup jobs in their van, which is equipped with masks, respirators, gloves and body suits to not only protect themselves from health risks but also to comply with biohazard cleaning standards.
View Larger Tom Tomimbang and Theresa Nishite know the literal meaning of the catchphrase, "It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it."

They are crime and trauma scene cleaners -- the people who come in after the police investigation, medical examiners and forensics team. They have the often gruesome and disturbing task of cleaning and disinfecting venues that could be littered with blood and human remains.

Banking on the pop culture obsession behind popular television series like "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "Law and Order," Tomimbang and Nishite recognized the potential for growth in a stomach-churning industry and decided to launch Island Decon LLC last year.

For one, they figured there will always be accidental, natural or unpreventable deaths, which are often messy by way of the natural processes of the human body, and individuals likely won't know how to take care of such messes themselves. People assume that paramedics, medical examiners or the fire department assist in cleanups, but Tomimbang said it is a burden that falls on the family or the property owner.

However distasteful or haunting the job, Tomimbang and Nishite say they constantly struggle with maintaining safety controls for a job that leaves many people disturbed, creeped out and longing for a shower. They have learned to invest in quality equipment, to effectively train and educate themselves on infectious diseases and occupational health risks, and to diversify their services to make the most of their time and resources.

They say they are most committed to helping people with traumatic events they have no control over. What is more compelling is that both Tomimbang and Nishite have demanding full-time jobs. Tomimbang is a police officer with the Honolulu Police Department and Nishite teaches science at Moanalua High School. However, they insist their Island Decon work doesn't interfere with their day jobs.

"As you can imagine, I've seen quite a [few] death scenes and I've always wondered who would come and help these already traumatized families clean up," Tomimbang said. "They would always ask, who could they call and we wouldn't really know who, other than tell them to look in the phone book."

"It was his master plan and I just rode with it but it made a lot of sense because he sees it all the time," Nishite said. "It is not something you can prepare for and it took some time to adjust at first."

After one year of operation, they have generated approximately $28,000 in revenue and have landed about 15 cleanup jobs. Tomimbang and Nishite have worked natural death scenes, suicides and even animal droppings cleanup. They charge about $250 an hour for the death scenes and about $90 an hour for other biohazard jobs. The brochures describe the company's specialties as "biohazard recovery, odor abatement and gross filth cleanups."

Their clients have included residential property managers who have discovered deceased tenants and business owners who have had problems with pigeon or rat droppings.

For Tomimbang and Nishite, it is more about biohazard recovery and decontamination and maintaining safe living and work environments. They have to comply with both federal Office of Safety and Health Administration and Hawaii Occupational Health and Safety Division rules, as well as biohazard waste management and sterilization standards -- all of which gets very expensive.

The two, who live together in Waikele, pooled their savings and shelled out $50,000 to launch Island Decon in August 2006. They spent about $1,500 on a year's supply of personal protection equipment, which includes biosuits, gloves, face shields, respirators and disposal booties. Another $800 is spent on chemical solutions, anti-microbial sprays and other tools needed for the cleanup jobs.

Even with limited competition, Tomimbang and Nishite struggle to gain recognition in a so-far obscure field. A quick glance under "biohazardous services" in the phone book comes up with just three entries for Oahu.

Tomimbang said they offer other biohazardous cleaning services aside from crime and trauma scene work because he knows that he may not be the first to get the call when there is a death-related cleanup. He sees it as a way to set himself apart from the competition. Even with brochures and a Web site, most of Island Decon's business has resulted from word-of-mouth advertising and referrals from dumping and waste management companies.

As worldwide tension over a possible avian influenza pandemic brings infectious disease control to the forefront, Tomimbang and Nishite stay on top of the latest guidelines for training and hazardous emergency response preparation. Tomimbang is certified through Amdecon, one of the nation's leaders in crime scene cleanup, and both he and Nishite are members of the American Bio-Recovery Association, which sets strict industry practice guidelines.

Tomimbang said their mobility and willingness to take on any job also is a key strategy. He has yet to turn down a job, no matter how daunting, and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He takes on most of the jobs with additional help from Nishite when needed. Nishite handles the bookkeeping.

"Anybody can clean, but how to do it correctly takes proper training and other intangibles where you can't just spray Lysol or Febreze and hope it goes away," he said.