Helping Educational Institutions Provide Clean, Healthy Environments for Their Students.
Structure & Environmental Contaminants
- About Us
Our Commercial Operations Team in NYC has built a reputation as a reliable, hands-on organization ready 24 hours a day to take on any size disaster. Our strengths lie within our forward thinking & team-oriented approach. We employ highly skilled Project Managers, technicians and specialists to ensure the highest level of care while meticulously documenting every step of the process.
Water Damage
- Categories of Water (Contamination Level)
- Class of Water (Saturation Level)
Categories of Water
- Clean Water Category 1
Broken pipe, icemaker, drain overflow. Does not contain waste or contaminants.
- Grey Water Category 2
Washing machine, dishwasher, roof leak. Has some soils and contaminants.
- Black Water Category 3
Raw sewage, floods. High degree of waste and contaminants.
- Contamination Level – Category 1
Originates from a sanitary water source and does not pose substantial risk from dermal, ingestion, or inhalation exposure.
- Contamination Level – Gray Water Category 2
Water that contains significant contamination and has the potential to cause discomfort or sickness if contacted or consumed by humans. With a fast evaporation rate, this level affects an entire room, carpeting, or cushioning, the wetness has wicked up the walls at least 12”, and there is moisture remaining in structural materials.
- Contamination Level – Black Water Category 3
- Appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) must be worn.
- Remove “At Risk” people from area.
- Use EPA-registered disinfectants.
- Prevent cross contamination.
- Remove silt and debris.
- Pressure wash or clean, as appropriate.
- Remove porous materials saturated with black water.
- Clean and disinfect equipment.
Water that is grossly contaminated and can contain pathogenic, toxigenic or other harmful agents.
- Saturation Levels
Class 1
Slow evaporation rate. Only part of a room or area was affected, there is little or no wet carpet, and the moisture has only affected materials with a low permeance rate, such as plywood or concrete.
Class 2
Water that contains significant contamination and has the potential to cause discomfort or sickness if contacted or consumed by humans. Can contain potentially unsafe levels of microorganisms or nutrients for microorganisms as well as other organic or inorganic matter.
Class 3
This class has the fastest evaporation rate, and ceilings, walls, insulation, carpet and sub-floors are all saturated. The liquid may have come from overhead.
Class 4
This class is labeled as specialty drying situations, which means there has been enough liquid and time to saturate materials with very low permeance, such as hardwood, brick, or stone.
General
Procedures
- Pump or extract gross amount of moisture
- Locate hidden pockets of moisture
- Utilize air movers to move moisture off of surfaces
- Add heat to increase rapid drying process
- Dehumidifiers to remove excessive moisture from ambient atmosphere
- CASE STUDY – University of North Carolina Wilmington
Storm damage to the roof of the main faculty building at UNCW lead to water damage on multiple floors. We were tasked with mitigating further damage to the building and management of the recovery process.
- Emergency response within 48 hours.
- Provided up to 60 technicians for three weeks.
- Completed Project On Time & On Budget
- Project Total Cost $17 Million
Remediation
COMMON SOURCES OF EXCESS MOISTURE AND MOLD GROWTH INCLUDE
- Roof leaks and associated moisture in walls, ceilings and attics
- Wet subfloor or wet carpet and/or flooring
- Water sitting in a basement or crawl space and creating high humidity
- Plumbing backups
- Mold spores in HVAC ducts
- Inadequate ventilation
Mold Protocols
- Locate moisture source
- Contain the affected area
- Provide all necessary PPE for workers depending on contamination level
- Set up negative air with HEPA Air Scrubbers
- Remove Mold Contamination and properly dispose of all mold-contaminated items
- HEPA Vac all surfaces
- Dry out any remaining moisture
Mold
Laws
- New York State 2016 Mold Abatement Law
Article 32
Requires companies to be licensed for mold inspection which entails training of mold assessment technicians & remediation specialists. The law also sets minimum work standards.
License Requirement For All Businesses:
- Engages in mold assessment on a project
- Advertises that it is a mold assessment company
- Holds itself out as a mold assessment company
- any individual who inspects or assesses property for the purpose of discovering: mold, conditions that facilitate mold, and/or any conditions that indicate they are likely to encourage mold.
Minimum Work Standards
- Complete understanding of all 3 levels of mold contamination
- Approved mold remediation work plan by the State assessor
- Level 1 Procedures
10 square feet or less (Contiguous area)
- Workers wear respiratory protection (e.g., N95 disposable respirator), gloves and eye protection
- Vacate people from the immediate area
- Moldy surfaces can be cleaned without disinfecting
- Moldy surfaces cannot be disinfected without cleaning
- Level 2 Procedures
10 – 100 square feet (Contiguous area)
- HEPA vacuum the work area before cleaning with damp cloth, mop and detergent solution.
- Level 3 Procedures
More than 100 square feet (Contiguous area)
- Remove contaminated materials that cannot be cleaned from the building in a sealed plastic bag.
Category
Infectious Substance
- Potentially Life Threatening
Category A: Infectious Substance
A form capable of causing permanent disability or life threatening or fatal disease in otherwise healthy humans or animals when exposed.
- Bacillus anthraces
- Ebola virus
- Hepatitis B and Herpes virus (cultures only)
- Rabies virus
- West Nile virus
Category
Infectious Substance
- Potential life-threatening or fatal disease in otherwise healthy humans or animals when exposed
- Most blood, bodily tissue, communicable disease cultures generally fall into Category B Substances
- Most blood, bodily tissue, communicable disease cultures generally fall into Category B Substances
Other types of OPIM (Other Potentially Infectious Material)
- MRSA – Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
- C. Diff – (Clostridium difficile)
- Tuberculosis
- CASE STUDY – University of Rochester
The norovirus outbreak on the campus of the University of Rochester in 2016 infected 195 students.
Norovirus is a very contagious virus that spreads from an infected person, from contaminated food or water, or by touching contaminated surfaces, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis — inflammation of the stomach and the intestines — in the United States.
The effects of norovirus tend to last 24 to 48 hours.
- Provided up to 20 technicians for three weeks.
- Provided equipment for 6 weeks.
- Completed Project On Time & On Budget
- Project Total Cost $500,000
Preparedness Reduces
- Coverage Area
Our team is prepared and ready to serve you 24/7 throughout New York City. We have the team and the experience needed to manage multiple project throughout the area.
- Strategic Relationships
We maintain strategic relationships with contracting vendors around the city and throughout New England. When needed we are capable of pulling together resources and additional technicians to handle disasters of large scale proportions providing you peace of mind in these stressful situations.
- Disaster Services & Cleaning Services
- Fire, Flood, Storm Damage, Disease Control
In these unprecedented moments you will need a team you can rely on to quickly respond and remain vigilant throughout the restoration process.
- General Cleaning, Construction Cleaning & More
These services are available to help you when cleaning projects become too large for school staff and require dedicated attention to ensure proper completion.
- Green Cleaning Products
We offer a line of non-toxic cleaning products to help ensure a healthy environment for your students and staff.
- Allows our team to create a company profile for your school. In the case of an emergency we will have crucial information to help us efficiently begin mitigation.
- In the event of a disaster, you will kept up-to-date using our ERP App and direct contact with your ERP liaison.
- This no cost program is designed to offer you a simple solution to 24 hour disaster management, leave it to the professionals!
SERVPRO Commercial Opps NYC
Sean Slutsky • (516) 617-1000 • SERVPRO Disaster Recovery Team
- Why Partner With Us
We approach every project with a dedication to hard work and a willingness to understand the needs of each individual situation. Our Commercial Operations team members engage in rigorous trainings and maintain Continuing Education. We have been on the front-lines of some of the countries largest natural disasters where we have been tasked with managing every stage of the mitigation, recovery & reconstruction process. Our extensive reach allows us to be Faster to any sized Disaster.